


Skyrim: Origins of the Voice

by Aaron_ledgers



Category: E - Fandom, Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls I: Arena, Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-18 12:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4705355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaron_ledgers/pseuds/Aaron_ledgers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every Nord knows of the Dragonborn. What they DON'T know is that Tamriel was shattered into multiple planes of existence by Molag Bal thousands of years ago. Every time a Dovahkiin succeeds in vanquishing Alduin, he is reborn into a parallel universe where a new Dragonborn awaits. It is an endless cycle in which many brave men and woman have died for naught.  But this time... the Dragonborn is a strange, mute little girl with a different goal.</p><p>And her decisions will shake the core of Tamriel so powerfully that all eyes will finally see who the evil ones truly are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CherryJacks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryJacks/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate seeing author notes in the middle of a story. I feel it ruins the the zen your writing has created. However, THIS is a special story. No notes, no mood crushers, just special links to special places, and the BEST PART is that the links themselves are part of the story dialogue! So, keep an eye out for underlined text in later chapters, because THOSE are the hyperlinks! Click them when you see them (more preferably, open them in a new tab, if possible) to get a badass immersion effect. Click the story title below for an example! Enjoy!

[SKYRIM: ORIGINS OF THE VOICE](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/beyond-skyrim-morrowind-theme)  


**Prologue: It Begins**

The sun was just beginning to rise when the sound of an odd concussion struck against the air like a drum.

Ula twitched awake because of the sensation that swept through her as a result: tiredly opening her shimmering amethyst eyes and staring up at the sky, she blinked like an owl that had been woken up much too early and yawned. She felt groggy and rather confused, since she really couldn't understand why she'd fallen asleep outside... but then, there was another concussion, and she twitched a second time. It had been a lot fainter and lacked the jarring impact of the first, but something about it made her hair stand up.

However, the sound didn't come again: only the chirping of the birds could be heard.

Ula sleepily blinked again before her eyelids slowly drooped and slid closed: she was extremely tired and didn't want to wake up just yet.

The bark beneath her almost seemed to have molded to fit the shape of her body... it was almost as soft as her bed, maybe even more so.

She was currently lying on a branch in an enormous cherry tree near the edge of Darkwater Village: her silver hair was fanned out across the bark and in some places it hung openly in the air, rippling in the breeze like strands of liquid moonlight. Early morning light was playing across her pale skin in the dapples made by the leaves hanging overhead, making her feel somewhat more awake. The last thing she could recall was coming here to count the stars, so she must have fallen asleep without realizing it.

That's when another far-off concussion split the air, making her eyes fly open in confusion.

After sitting up, Ula winced when her head spun.

Her hair slid over her skinny shoulders when she touched her forehead.

Cherry Blossoms had bloomed around her body again… there were beautiful pink flowers growing out of twigs all around her.

Letting out a small sigh, the girl leaned close to the flowers and inhaled the scent of green and growing things. Then she glanced at the brightening sky and realized that it was most likely time to start helping in the tavern kitchens. Eyes widening, the girl hastily climbed to her feet and clutched the side of the tree before looking at the branches lying thirty feet below her with calculating eyes; completely mindless of her dirty dress, the girl lifted her arms out to the sides and started running along the limb she'd been sleeping on.

Feeling calm, she leapt down to the next branch and caught her balance before repeating the nimble jumping process.

Soon she came to a spot she'd missed in her inspection: it was too far to reach by merely jumping.

Cocking her head in a puzzled manner, the girl eyed her options even as another, much closer, concussion split the air. Using a bit of improvisation, the white-haired girl managed to slide off the branch she was crouching on and clasped the limb. Then, after steadying the position of her legs, the girl carefully swung her body a bit to the left before letting go and dropping twelve feet to the branch below her.

She landed with a wince since a twig cut her foot, but aside from that, she was fine.

Getting down after that was easy, and soon she was on soft grass.

Dusting herself off, the girl made her way back down the rocky bluffs towards the village. As she walked, she took stock of her surroundings: there wasn't much to see, really, just massive, mossy trees and low-lying ferns heaped amongst the craggy recesses with lots of hot springs here and there… but beyond that was the beach and the lake.

Ula had always been fascinated by water for some reason.

When she managed to make it down to the village, two dark-haired children ran out of a nearby house and nearly crashed into her. The two of them were laughing and giggling about something that only children could understand, but her eyes softened a little as she watched them happily run off towards the edge of town.

Many village children had often teased her mercilessly over her different coloring when she'd been little… her almost-colorless skin and cloud-white hair were a stark contrast to the majority of the people in Skyrim, who had ivory skin and platinum blonde hair at the very lightest. Not to mention she had always been bullied for having pointed ears… lots of people, even a few adults, sometimes called her the Elf girl.

And since elves were highly disliked for some weird reason, it wasn't all that surprising to see hostility being directed at her.

There were a few who speculated that she was most likely some form of hybrid elf, but then again... Ula just didn't fall into that category.

She was... of a different sort.

No one knew where she was from.

In fact, nobody was even sure what her real name was, and since she couldn't tell them... she'd been called Ula.

The gem of the lake.

Some believed she'd fallen into the lake since she'd just washed up on shore one morning. Others thought she'd gotten separated from her family. In reality, there was a lot of speculation about her since she didn't resemble any of the known Factions in Tamriel… but nobody knew the truth of it. Eventually, most people simply decided that it didn't matter where she'd come from or what sort of being she was.

Ula was Ula, and her home was Darkwater Crossing: that was what mattered the most.

Despite the early morning hour, everyone was already working hard.

Men were heading for the mines to haul in ore, women were baking and selling things in their shops, the local blacksmith was mingling together with her father and helping him with forging specific tasks, and children were playing with each other and their dogs. Ula paused when the sun suddenly slid over the horizon and filled the world with morning light, shielding her eyes from the harsh glare. However, once her sensitive eyes had adjusted, she beheld a gorgeous pink and yellow sunrise.

The sight of it had her smiling, eyes sparkling like they always did when she beheld the beauty of her home.

After all, Darkwater Crossing was a beautiful place to live.

The silver mines afforded a difficult, but very pleasant life: ore would be retrieved and chores would be completed, but when all was said and done, friends and family would gather to talk and laugh around the fires in the tavern. Perhaps she'd even get to dance with Kai again… he'd asked her to dance a few times in the past, but the most recent one had been very different.

He'd danced with her like a man, not a boy: there had been a fire in his eyes when he'd looked at her.

A fire that had reminded her of her sister's warm home, of happiness, of joy...

It had been a beautiful feeling.

Kai was an eighteen-year-old Nord with black hair, copper skin, and bright amber eyes: he'd been friends with her ever since the day she'd washed up on the lake shore. He had a chiseled figure and firm muscles from all the work it took to be a woodsman and a miner, and he had also become undeniably handsome in recent years: his looks had already drawn the attention of several village women. He was also an extremely cheerful young man: his existence was practically a miniature sun.

Kai was always spreading light wherever he went.

The sound of a nearby dog growling made her turn around in surprise.

Ula immediately froze, shivering violently and huddling down on herself.

The Imperials were back again... probably to collect more taxes.

Everyone glared at them when they strode through the village as though they owned it.

There was a deep-set dislike of the Empire in Darkwater Crossing, almost hereditary in nature. The Empire had never helped them during the harsh years when they'd nearly starved to death from the meager harvests and failing mines, and its tax collectors were ruthless. 

That dislike, however, had never deepened until a few years ago, when everyone had suddenly been told that worshiping Talos had become a crime severe enough to warrant arrest or even treason. A vast Majority of the Nords had rebelled against this law and formed a group called the Stormcloaks. They were a rebel group that constantly raided and attacked the Empire. It was a mystery who their leader was or who had formed them, but the group had garnered much respect since they constantly eluded the Capital's efforts to destroy them. Little was known about the Stormcloaks except for the fact that if you were a fugitive in need of shelter, or if you hated the Empire, then they would accept you.

The only problem was finding them.

As she was mulling over this, Ula spotted her sister, Svena, walking out of the tavern with her arms full of potato sacks.

She was obviously finishing up her shopping for dinner.

Svena was nineteen, and unlike the majority of the women in their village, she had kept her curly hair extremely short since it was difficult to maintain. And yet, almost as if to make up for not having long hair… she'd developed a very womanly body that usually had male heads turning all over the place. Her sister had also discovered on her sixteenth birthday that she had a strong talent for the use of curative magicka.

That was why she'd become an apprentice healer.

In the eyes of the villagers, Svena was flawless: a classic Redguard beauty.

Ula blinked a few times when Svena turned around and headed her way.

The silver-haired girl's pink eyes lit up and she stood on her tiptoes in order to wave at her sibling, trying to catch her eye. When the blue-eyed Red Guard noticed her, she instantly smiled and waved right back in a cheerful manner, hefting her sacks in order to do so. However, it was in that moment that a thunderous sensation slapped against the air, sending a wave of sand and dirt flying up the streets from the direction of the Inn. 

Ula's long hair was blasted forward by the gale that assaulted her from behind.

In fact, she even stumbled a little bit from the force of it.

After a moment of coughing and sneezing, the silver-haired girl rubbed her stinging back with a whine and slowly turned around, looking down the street in total confusion: she really didn't know what had just hit her. Likewise, nobody else seemed to know, either: everyone had stopped talking and was now looking down the street with startled eyes, trying to figure out what had caused the gust and the odd sensation.

It had been like feeling a close clap of thunder without the sound.

"Ula!" Svena called, hefting her satchels before running up to her and putting a protective hand on her shoulder. "What was that? Do you know?"

The albino merely looked up at her and shook her head to signify that she didn't.

Both girls turned to face the street yet again when a man in blue bolted around a corner with his sword drawn.

Then more people in blue, all of them fair skinned, tore after him with frantic expressions.

Among them, shockingly enough, was the Jarl of Windhelm: Ulfric Stormcloak himself. Svena dropped her potatoes in shock and Ula's mouth fell open in surprise: it was a rare sight to see a Jarl leave his castle, and even more so to see one wielding a weapon.

Before anyone could blink, five Imperials darted out from some nearby buildings and cut down three of the people wearing blue.

[Ula's eyes widened and went blank when arcs of red flew past her vision.](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/summerset-isles-bossfight)

Several of the villagers screamed when their blood began to paint the earth crimson; snarling, the Jarl turned and opened his mouth, but a wall of deafening blue light exploded out of his throat and knocked the people in red clean off their feet. The sight had Svena letting out screech of terror. Panicking, she grabbed Ula's arm and dragged the stricken mute girl away from the men who were now headed in their direction.

Before she could even begin to realize what was happening, Ula was running for her life.

All around her, men in blue and red were hacking each other to pieces and painting the earth with fountains of crimson.

There were clashing people all around her: ahead of her, behind her, on either side… all around was madness.

The imperials were in the lunatic rage of combat and hungry for murder: they didn't discriminate against the ones in blue or the villagers, for they were thirsty for the blood that was drenching the sand. Not their own, of course, never their own… because no fool ever goes to battle believing he'll be the one to die. Ula jolted and her mouth fell open in a silent scream when a sword-wielding imperial ran Svena's Grandmother, a sweet old woman named Rita, through the stomach and gutted her.

"NO! Gran!" Svena screeched, instantly trying to bolt towards the woman; Kai was suddenly beside them, gripping their arms and preventing them from moving... not that Ula had any such intent. She had been frozen, eyes large, mouth open with horror as she tried to let out a scream that would never come. "NO! Kai! Let me go! Let me go! That's my Gran! He's killing my Gran! Get off of my grandmother, you horrible bastard! Get off her!"

It was too late: the woman's bonnet fell off as she flailed on the imperial's sword, grey hair tumbling down to her shoulders.

Then she went limp, and the man jerked his sword free of her body.

However, when he turned his eyes on them, something in Ula's mind sparked with fright: eyes flashing around, the girl's gaze fell upon a nearby mace resting beside a fallen corpse. Shuddering violently, the girl hastily tiptoed around the body and snatched the weapon before jumping back in front of Svena and Kai: her hands were shaking and her mouth was trembling as she held the weapon in front of her.

The sight was pathetic, and it made the imperial laugh.

"What's this?" he sneered in a thick Nordic accent, eyeing the girl when Kai started dragging the sobbing Svena away. "You'd better put the weapon down, little girl, otherwise I won't be lenient with you. Drop it and put your hands in the air, otherwise you'll be arrested for treason."

Ula hissed like a wildcat, pink eyes shining with terror.

"Go get the swords!" another villager shouted from far off. "Get the women and children to safety!"

Ula twitched when another concussion unexpectedly split the air, sending another wave of wind roaring up the street: the guard immediately went flying onto the wall and smashed his head against the stone. Ula flinched and felt her stomach churning, suddenly wanting nothing more than to vomit; however, just when the world started spinning, Kai grabbed her arm and tried pulling her away from the corpse.

"Ula!" the boy shouted, struggling to jerk her away from the chaos in front of them. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"

No...

No, that's not what she wanted to do!

She couldn't just run away!

She had to do something!

She couldn't just sit here and watch as her home was destroyed!

She couldn't leave her friends and family to die!

However, she had no skills... she couldn't fight, she didn't know how to use a sword, and she was terrified of everything going on around her. Already, more imperial soldiers were battling with the vastly outnumbered men and women wearing blue: currently, they were battling like warriors and the townsfolk of Darkwater Crossing were going down one by one. Eyes widening in horror, the girl slipped out of her best friend's grasp and ran down the street towards a few villagers who were cowering against the wall. Kai instantly tried to go after her, but sometime during the chaos, the town had caught fire and he was cut off by a falling tree.

"ULA!" Kai shouted, amber eyes widening in horror; his copper skin gleamed in the light of the flames. "Ula, come back!"

The girl ignored him and kept going until she made it to a nearby house, clutching the mace with shaking limbs. Her breath came in short little pants as she pressed herself against the wall and peered around the corner. Svena had bolted in a different direction after the first initial shock of losing her grandmother: she could hear the screams of nearby men and women locked in combat. After looking across the road, she spotted six young children hiding in an alley and crying their eyes out.

Her eyes widened when two imperial soldiers at the opposite end of that same alley came into view and spotted them.

However, the poor girl's heart nearly stopped when they hefted their swords and started advancing on the little ones, who screamed and started backing away in terror, wailing hysterically. Several of them were crying for their families, and others were simply bawling from the fear... but regardless, those men were going to kill them... she could see it in their eyes. Ignoring the shakiness in her limbs, Ula forced her throat to work and let out her first shriek in years.

Her throat stung as it was lit up by a strange blue light.

"RUN!" the girl wailed, voice echoing all around; she charged forward even as she issued the command, lifting the mace above her head. When the children scattered in every direction, one of the guards attempted to lunge at them from the side, but the silver-haired teen swung the bludgeon and hit the man clean in the side of his helmet, knocking him over and stunning him. When the other guard tried to attack her, she stumbled backwards, then took off with a terrified expression.

"Get back here, wench!" the Imperial snarled, hefting his sword with a fierce expression in his eyes; he then charged after her, which frightened the girl out of her wits. "Stop running you little shit! Halt! I said HALT!"

"Ula!" Svena suddenly wailed, watching with horrified eyes as she sprinted back down the street past countless battling people. "Ula, run! Get away from him!"

She didn't need anyone to tell her that much: she tore back down the street with her long hair flying, the mace awkwardly being held in her hands. She flew past several houses and trees, weaving her way between alleys, but just as she was coming around the corner that led to the town bazaar, she bore witness to a horrifying sight: several elderly people she saw on a day to day basis were trapped by a circle of Imperial guards.

And like monsters, the men in red moved in and started cutting down everyone she loved.

Inez... Benita... Thorolf... Nicoli... she watched in horror as they all fell to the ground, one by one, screaming as they were murdered by the laughing imperials.

The silver-haired girl's face paled and the mace fell out of her hands, tears already streaming down her face from the horror.

 _No_! Ula silently screeched, heart flying into her throat. _Get up! Please, everyone, get up and run! It's not too late! Please!_

However, she was wrong... and the girl burst into tears when nobody moved.

The clear morning sky was slowly turning dark with thunderheads.

Ula didn't see the Jarl of Windhelm until it was too late: he was on the other side of the bazaar, but his mouth was open and he looked angry.

"Fus..." an ethereal voice hissed, making the girl's pink eyes widen, "ROH DAH!"

Ula's large eyes went blank and she squeaked only a split second before the wall of deafening light collided with her body, sending her flying. She was knocked clean into the air, flipping six times before she landed hard on her side and rolled clean into a building. She came to a halt on her back, long hair splayed out and thoroughly stunned in more ways than one: she could barely breathe... her entire body hurt. She tried to take a breath, but started coughing and choked since she wasn't able to.

Just as she was getting up, the guard who'd been chasing her leapt around the corner and smashed into her upper torso, tackling her back onto the ground.

Ula let out a silent yelp and started flailing around when the man grabbed her shoulders and attempted to pin her down. Svena shrieked and jumped into the fray, ducking and dodging arrows as she fought to get to the girl. Ula kicked her legs and pushed at the dirt with her feet in an attempt to buck the Imperial off of her.

Struggling to make her throat work, the mute girl let out a silent wail and strained to keep the man's sword away from her.

Ula's pink eyes jolted wide in horror when her hands slipped; the next thing she knew, the man's blade was in her shoulder and a searing agony was exploding in her muscles. It felt as though she had just gotten burned AND bit by a horse, which was something that had actually happened to her once when she'd been younger. Her pupils instantly contracted and she let out a silent scream of pain, flailing her free arm and clawing at the side of his helmet in an attempt to get his sword out of her shoulder.

Right around that moment, Svena lifted her hands and let out a shriek, palms glowing bright orange: seconds later, two jets of fire exploded out of her fingertips and engulfed the man's head; then she turned it on the approaching guard, burning him almost completely to death. Screaming, the psycho dislodged his sword from the mute girl's shoulder, and before he could recuperate, Svena leapt forward and started stomping on his head.

"STAY DOWN, DOG!" the woman screamed, black curls thoroughly disheveled and blue eyes frenzied. "STAY OFF HER! STAY OFF HER! STAY OFF HER!"

"Svena, stop fighting and run!" Kai angrily bellowed, leaping down from a nearby rooftop. "We have to get out of here!"

He was right: their home was falling apart and nothing could save it at this point.

Children who had just been playing were crying their eyes out. Women were screaming and pressing themselves against the nearest walls. Men were shouting, trying to get everyone to safety. The imperials were still cutting down the innocent as well as the strangers in blue, leaving none behind. And worst of all... there were still men, women, and children who were being subjected to this horror. Houses were on fire... memories were going up in flames.

Blood was everywhere.

They were all in the most immediate danger, but the girl's blood turned cold when she realized that nobody knew what to do.

The pale, undersized girl clutched her bleeding wound in agony, already crying her eyes out.

Svena worriedly fawned over it, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and smacked the wound with both hands.

Ula undulated and writhed only a split second before the woman's hands started glowing gold: light ensnared the rent flesh on her body, sewing sinew and muscle back together seamlessly. The pain immediately began to fade... but since both Kai AND Svena were too busy focusing on her, they didn't notice the Imperial man sneaking up behind them with the club in his hands.

Ula's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to warn them, to do something, but then the club came down.

Agony erupted on her forehead.

The last thing she remembered seeing was Kai and Svena running away from her in opposite directions... leaving her behind.

 _So it begins again..._ a male voice whispered sadly, breaching her fading mind with a glowing yellow light. _The endless cycle of eternal return_.

Ula's eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness, tasting blood with ringing ears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Last Stop... Helgen?**

Ula's ears were ringing... her head hurt terribly, and she felt trapped in an impenetrable darkness.

After a moment of enduring the impossibly loud ringing that permeated the silence in her head, her eyes fluttered a little and she swallowed hard. Her head began throbbing even more violently when she slowly started swimming back into awareness: she felt extremely nauseous.

A muffled clopping noise then began to pound in her ringing ears, and as she became more aware of the omnipresent darkness, things seemed to clear up a little. She had to open her eyes... had to escape the weight inside her head before the darkness spiraled up again and swallowed her. Ula struggled so hard that her stomach clenched: she was fighting to tumble into the light from the spinning shadows.

With a jolt, her sparkling pink eyes flew open wide and she immediately began to cry: silent tears began streaming down her cheeks as she panted, gasping for air and trying to figure out what was going on. The crystalline drops landed on the bouncing wood right in front of her face, making her feel extremely sick and dizzy. In that moment, the muffled noises began to make sense, but the way her hearing suddenly came back felt as though cotton had been pulled out of her ears.

After blinking the haze away, she quickly became aware of everything since consciousness had finally started to descend on her.

The moment her mind cleared up and she realized she was lying on something hard and uncomfortable, however, Ula struggled to sit up… but she frowned a little in confusion when she wasn't able to move her arms. Slowly and apprehensively, the tiny girl fidgeted and struggled with both of her hands on an individual level before she simultaneously lifted her palms in front of her eyes.

[Her wrists had been tied together by a rough-looking piece of rope.](https://m.soundcloud.com/mimi-page/secunda-skyrim-cover)

A jolt of fright swept through her and her pointed ears stuck straight out in shock.

 _Kai...?_ she silently whimpered, struggling not to panic and fighting to get free of her bonds. _Svena...? Where am I?! What's going on?!_

However, she froze when the memories of what had happened to her home came roaring back: her eyes widened and her breath hitched, heart skipping a painful beat as she recalled seeing almost everyone she'd loved being murdered. Reality then began to descend on her and a horrible amount of fear swept through her heart: she had been taken prisoner by the imperials...

For some reason, somehow, she'd survived and they'd tied her up.

It was also... almost unbearably cold: it hit her like a slap in the face when she finally noticed.

Shivering violently, Ula weakly pulled her legs up and curled them up inside her tattered dress in an attempt to keep her lower body warm.

She lay there for a moment, too afraid to do much more... she didn't want to see what was going on.

Perhaps they'd tossed her in a wagon with dead bodies, mistaking her as one of them?

Considering what kind of people they were, she wouldn't doubt it... but she was forced to discard that thought since her hands were tied up. If they'd thought she was dead, they wouldn't have bothered binding her. Ula shifted a little and finally sat up in order to look at what she was sitting in. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that there were three other men in the cart with her. A blonde man with a thick beard and cold blue eyes was glaring at the driver of the cart, a dark-haired man wearing dirty-looking rags was staring sullenly at the floor of the wagon, and the Jarl of Windhelm himself was staring at the sky with a gag tied over his mouth.

Ula blinked and did a double-take when she noticed that their hands were tied as well.

 _What in Shor's Blood is going on?!_ the mute wondered in horror, eyes widening as she took in the Jarl's dreadful state. _Why is the Jarl tied up?!_

Ula fearfully huddled down in the cart, glancing from man to man with uncertain eyes.

She was hoping... nay, praying... that this was nothing more than a nightmare.

She flinched when the blonde man sitting across from her turned his head and cocked a thick eyebrow before straightening up and eyeing her a bit.

His brows furrowed for several moments when she stared at him with wide, frightened eyes, but then his expression smoothed out and he relaxed a bit.

"Hey, you," the blonde man grunted in a thick Nordic accent, which made the girl's eyes widen. "Are you finally awake?"

Ula eyed him warily before giving a hesitant nod; he seemed to be waiting for her to say something, so she gestured at her throat with her foot and shook her head.

His eyes widened when she opened her mouth and mimicked talking: he seemed to have understood.

"So, you can't speak, eh?" the blonde man asked in a deep voice; when she nodded, he shook his head. "Well, in that case, my name is Ralof. They tossed you into the wagon after the ambush in the village was over: those poor souls never stood a chance... I'm guessing you got caught up in it by accident, eh?"

Ula hesitantly nodded and bit back tears: she squeezed her eyes shut when the memories of her friends being slaughtered resurfaced.

"Oh, shut up already with the self-righteous act! Damn you Stormcloaks… Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy," the dark-haired man snapped, making the mute jump; he was staring at the floor of the wagon, brown eyes burning with an expression of sullen regret. "If the Imperials hadn't been looking for you, I could have gotten away with stealing that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now!"

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," Ralof calmly pointed out, shooting him a pointed look. "Let's not argue."

"How can I not?!" the man barked, glaring daggers at the blonde. "You got women and children mixed up in that fight of yours! That entire village was slaughtered because of you! I'm only a simple farmer who just wants to go home: I shouldn't be here! It's you that the Empire wants."

Shut up back there!" the man steering the wagon barked in an irritated tone of voice.

"What's wrong with him?" Lokir muttered sourly, shooting a glare at the back of the driver's odd-looking helmet; Ula, however, was severely startled when Ralof's laid-back demeanor did a total one-eighty... he literally swung around and stared at the helmeted man with a dangerous expression.

"Watch your tongue," he commanded in a thunderous voice. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King."

"Ulfric? Wait... those clothes... you're the Jarl of Windhelm?" Lokir abruptly demanded, looking at the gagged blonde man with a stunned expression. "B-b-but, you're the leader of the Rebellion! If they've captured you… oh, Gods, where are these men taking us?!"

"I don't know where we're going," the man stated, looking at the sky as the wind swept through his hair, "but Sovengarde awaits."

"No!" Lokir whispered, brown eyes going blank with fright. "This can't be happening! This isn't happening! I don't want to die!"

Ula's eyes widened in horror and she immediately started shaking: she had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was... it definitely wasn't a good thing. Ula immediately leaned back against the rough wood, but only because her body gave out due to the immense wave of nausea that swept through her stomach. With amethyst eyes that had gone completely blank, the mute girl slowly brought her bound hands up to her face and valiantly tried to fight back her tears of fright.

This couldn't be happening to her.

It wasn't real.

There was no possible way.

But the ropes were cutting her skin, the wind whipping through her hair was freezing, the feeling of the wagon beneath her body was substantial, and she was completely aware of what was going on. It was impossible, but at the same time… everything was actually pointing towards it being very possible indeed: she was either having an extremely vivid dream, or everyone she'd ever loved had been slaughtered like animals and she was now on her way to die.

How in the world had such a normal day turned so nasty and strange?

"Hey, horse thief," Ralof suddenly stated in a soft voice, capturing Ula's attention and making the girl lower her hands; she looked at him with watering eyes to find that he had a sorrowful expression on his face. "What village are you from?"

"Why do you care?" Lokir retorted in a shaken voice, sounding to be on the verge of tears.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," Ralof explained in a solemn tone, then glanced at Ula to see that she was shaking and fighting valiantly not to cry. When the first gleaming drops trickled down her chin, she lowered her head a little bit and hid them with her hair. After that, her mind went into a daze: she wasn't able to comprehend what was really happening to her, but she knew that whatever this was… it wasn't going to be pleasant.

She wanted to wake up back in her favorite cherry tree again... she wanted to be dancing with Kai and listening to Svena's stories about magic..

She wanted to be eating with her friends and family and dancing around the fire like everyone always did.

Sadly, she couldn't get what she wanted now: her home had been completely eradicated.

"Rorikstead," Lokir finally stammered, speaking after a few long moments of silence. "I'm… I'm from Rorikstead... but why is this happening? It's not fair!"

"Life rarely is," Ralof stated quietly, giving him a sympathetic look.

"General Tullius, sir!" a man suddenly called from the wagon riding ahead of their own. "The headsman is waiting!"

"Good," another man barked in an irritated tone of voice. "Let's get this over with."

Ula shrank down with a feeling of dread in her stomach, ears sticking straight out: now and again, they'd move depending on her mood... it was uncontrollable.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh," Lokir chanted, squeezing his eyes shut as his face paled. "Divines, help me! Please!"

"Look at him," Ralof sneered, gesturing at the man who had leapt off of the wagon just ahead of theirs; it had slipped between two huge castle-like walls that towered above the cobblestone road. "General Tullius is the military governor, but it looks as though the Thalmor are with him... if my eyes are working correctly. Damn elves and their peace treaty ought to rot on the side of the road... Bah... this is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here… wonder if Vilod is still making his famous mead with the Juniper berries. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

Ralof sighed, looking at the ancient buildings and small huts that lined the road with a glint in his sapphire blue eyes.

Ula finally let out a silent whine, curling up into a ball and burying her head in her knees.

"Who are they, Daddy?" a little boy who looked to be around eight years old suddenly asked, peering at the two wagons with bright green eyes from where he was sitting cross-legged on his porch. "Where are they all going? Is it another soldier parade?"

"You need to go inside, little cub," the man standing behind him stated firmly. "Go help your mother with supper."

"Why?" the little boy whined, shoulders slumping down a little bit. "I wanna watch the soldiers."

"Inside the house," the man commanded firmly, pointing at the door; an old woman wearing a weathered green dress glanced at the child and nodded in agreement when his father glared. "Go inside the house, son… now."

"Yes, Papa," the little boy sighed, sounding thoroughly unenthusiastic about leaving the 'soldier parade' Ula had become a part of; the small girl turned and looked at him, silver hair drifting a little in the wind and shining like moonlight. When the overcast sky slowly darkened even further, the albino glanced up at the clouds with frightened amethyst eyes, praying to all Gods, known and unknown, that she would somehow make it out alive.

That was all she could do at this point: even if she ran away, she had no idea where she was supposed to go now that her home was gone.

"Whoa!" a man suddenly called. "Whoa, boy... easy now."

Ula unexpectedly fell over onto Jarl Ulfric's lap when the wagon jolted: her eyes widened and she twitched, especially after looking up and realizing that he was staring at her with a cocked eyebrow. Face going bone white, the girl sat back up and scooted away from him with enormous eyes: she then glanced ahead of them, watching as the wagon she was sitting in slowed down and came to a halt in front of a stone wall.

For a moment, she happened to catch a glimpse of the people in the other cart.

Three men and two women, all of them wearing blue armor, were sitting with their heads lowered weakly.

"Why are we stopping?" Lokir asked with a fearful expression. "What's going to happen now?"

"Why do you think?" Ralof stated grimly. "End of the line."

Ula shook her head in terror, squeezing her eyes shut when her vision began to swim with black and red spots; she forced herself to take a deep breath, but she felt extremely lightheaded when she opened her eyes and looked around once again. The colors of the world seemed overly bright, and the feeling of lightheadedness only increased the more she tried to fight it off: the poor girl soon felt sick to her stomach as she stared at the green and yellow grass. What made the scene even worse were the drab grey cobblestone that lined the keep's walls and sprinkled the road that their wagons had been going down.

Even now, when she was so close to death, she could hear music in this place... it resounded deeply within her.

"Let's go," Ralof grunted, getting to his feet. "Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

The pale girl blanched and shook her head in dismay before shakily getting up and following him out of the wagon. She watched with extremely dizzy eyes as Lokir hopped off the wagon; he immediately began to protest when a man wearing crimson armor shoved him forward.

"No, wait!" Lokir cried, gesturing at Ula and himself with frantic movements; the girl instantly bit her lip, praying they'd listen. "We're not rebels!"

"Face your death with courage, thief," Ralof commanded sternly, blonde hair being blown in his face by the wind; Ula's knees buckled when she tried to take a step forward and she smacked face-first into the wagon. She felt blood running from her nose and let out a dismayed huff of air before shakily sliding upright and scooting off the edge. When she slipped off the wagon, however, she jumped: Ralof and the Jarl were both insanely huge, even for Nords.

They actually bordered on being over seven feet tall, maybe even a little more than that.

"You've got to tell them!" Lokir pleaded, looking at the man with terrified eyes. "We weren't with you! This is a mistake!"

"Step towards the block when we call your name!" a red-clad woman standing in front of the Jarl barked. "One at a time!"

"Empire loves their damn lists," Ralof sighed, shaking his head in scornful dismay; Ula jerkily glanced around, hoping that there would be a way for her to slip away unnoticed… or at the very least, uninjured. However, every area seemed to be blocked off by someone with a sword, and she had a feeling that there were a lot of guards in a place like this. Despite that, she was still extremely tempted to run away.

"Ulfric Stormcloak," a dark-haired man wearing red suddenly called, unfurling a scroll and reading it aloud, "Jarl of Windhelm."

The blonde man standing right in front of Ula lifted his head high and stepped forward, walking away and out of sight with proud movements.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric," Ralof quietly called, thick accent becoming thicker as he glanced at the red-clad man.

"Ralof of Riverwood," the Imperial called, voice hitching a little as he glanced at the blonde standing beside the mute girl; the Nord glanced down at the tiny white-haired girl and gave her a reassuring smile before he followed Ulfric out of sight. Ula immediately shivered, wondering why everything seemed so much colder after seeing that smile. She was trying to ignore the blood dripping out of her nose, but it got hard when a gust of wind swept through her thigh-length hair.

 _Why is this happening?_ Ula wondered weakly, looking up at the sky with tears in her eyes. _Why?! Where are Kai and Svena?!_

"Lokir of Rorikstead," the Imperial called, making the only man still standing in front of her jump in sheer terror; he immediately stepped forward, brown eyes wide and mouth trembling violently; Ula's stomach flopped when three of the Imperial soldiers put a hand on their swords, but her heart started beating a mile a minute. She felt like a rabbit caught in a cage when she saw their faces as they did so.

The Imperials were smiling.

As if they were hoping they'd be able to use the weapons.

"No, I'm not a rebel!" Lokir cried, brown eyes filling with tears as he looked at the Imperials. "You can't do this!"

When the soldiers merely sneered, the dark-haired man let out an angry sob and broke into a sprint. Ula's stomach dropped through the ground and she clenched the front of her dress even though her hands were still bound: she watched him run with bated breath, hoping he'd get away.

"Halt!" the Imperial woman screamed. "HALT!"

"You're not going to kill me!" Lokir wailed, sprinting past the house where the little boy had retreated to. "I won't let you!"

"Archers!" the woman barked, looking at three men who were standing in front of the tower beside the house.

The mute girl stiffened in horror when they lifted the weapons and sighted down the shafts.

Her shoulders instantly tensed and her eyes widened in horror... but then, when one of the guards released an arrow, her eyes went blank and her throat locked up with an unbearable pressure. In the blink of an eye, Lokir was on the ground with his scream already cut off; the albino stared at him with shaking hands, waiting for him to get up or move around… but he remained lying down where he had fallen.

The girl's knees began to feel rubbery when she realized he was dead.

"Anyone else feel like running?" the Imperial woman asked in a cocky tone, turning around with a satisfied expression; the man glanced at Ula in particular as the woman asked this question, but his mouth split into a confused frown when the tiny girl nearly passed out from shaking her head so much.

She didn't want to die with an arrow in her back… hell, she didn't want to die at all!

"Wait," the man holding the scroll commanded; he immediately began looking at Ula's features, gazing at her cloud-white hair, peering at her pointed ears, and examining her young features with furrowed brows. "You there, step forward."

Trying not to vomit, Ula timidly moved forward, keeping her pink eyes trained on the ground.

Her legs were shaking so badly that she felt as though only a miracle was keeping her from collapsing: she was that terrified.

"Who… are you?" the Imperial man asked, looking at her with intense eyes. "Speak your name, race, and village."

Ula froze in horror, pink eyes going blank: she floundered for something to do, for a gesture that didn't involve using her hands. The world swam with spots and she felt lightheaded when his eyes began to narrow: he was becoming impatient. Thinking quickly, the girl slowly sat down on her backside and rolled on her side before putting her flexibility to good use. This was pretty much the only real talent she had, since the girl could twist herself into a pretzel and even sit on her own head.

The man and several guards grasped their swords when she lifted her leg and bent it to tap the side of her throat.

Then she mimicked speaking and shook her head before carefully standing back up.

The man's eyes widened in stunned surprise, but he immediately smoothed his expression over.

"So... are you saying you can't speak?" the man asked, furrowing his brows when she nodded; he frowned when he glanced down at the scroll, but then a little spark of hope lit up his expression. He immediately turned to the woman standing at his side. "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

 _Please say you'll let me go,_ Ula silently prayed, lowering her head and squeezing her eyes shut. _Please... let me go._

"Forget the list," the woman snorted, eyeing the mute girl's form up and down with something close to distaste. "I don't like elves... she goes to the block."

"By your orders, Captain," the man stated softly, looking at the terror-stricken albino with a solemn countenance. "I'm sorry, child... follow the Captain."

When she remained frozen, he nodded to a guard standing against the wall.

Ula started crying when she was suddenly shoved forward from behind... but then, when she felt something sharp poking into her back, she got the hint and shakily began following the Imperial woman. The mute walked along the cobblestone path with her shoulders hunched, but when she saw the group of people she had been captured with standing tall and proud, she swallowed hard and attempted to do the same.

She just barely managed to lift her head up.

The view of the mountains immediately took her breath away: these were even more majestic than the ones in Darkwater Crossing. They were so tall that the clouds started obscuring them only halfway up, and their snow-capped peaks were so radiant and majestic that she almost forgot about her fear.

Almost.

When she lowered her head and stopped walking, Ula found herself standing between a burly redhead and a dark-haired man.

"Ulfric Stormcloak!" a man wearing bronze armor rapped out in a ponderous tone; Ula stared at the balding man, watching as he approached the Jarl of Windhelm who had been bound and gagged. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne."

"Well said, General Tullius," a guard standing near the wall grunted.

Ula silently watched as the blonde man glared at them, letting out a muffled grunt as his face turned red with anger.

"You started this war!" General Tullius barked, making Ula jump a second time: his voice had an annoying way of striking her frazzled nerves. "You plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace!"

The moment those words left his lips, a distant and ominous screech echoed down from the mountains.

Ula's expression went blank and her muscles went limp, amethyst eyes growing wide as an unfamiliar desire to Sing swept through her soul... she wanted to resonate with the music of life that was always echoing around her... she wanted to become one with the song of existence. Eyes vacant of emotion, the pale girl actually took three unconscious steps forward before one of the Stormcloaks gently pushed her back using his long leg.

When he shook his head warningly, the girl didn't notice... she was hearing music unlike any other, a song that seemed to be speaking from her very soul.

Almost immediately, a beautiful blue light spread out from her pupils and obscured her pink irises... and a strange mark on her throat was suddenly illuminated.

For several moments, her eyes and the mark shone with an odd luminescence... but then the blue glow in Ula's eyes winked out with a twinkle and she shook her head as though she were waking up from a daze. She blinked a few times and glanced around in confusion when she noticed that everyone was staring at the tallest nearby mountain; the small girl shivered violently and bit her lip when she realized that they looked confused.

"What was that?" the imperial with the scroll finally asked, looking a little uneasy. "Some kind of beast?"

"It's nothing," the balding man dismissively grunted. "Carry on."

"Yes, General Tullius!" the woman who'd ordered Lokir's death eagerly exclaimed; she then turned to an unhappy-looking young woman wearing a set of brown robes and a golden hood draped over her head. "Give them their last rites."

The woman sighed and stepped forward, lifting her hands and tilting her head back towards the sky.

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius," the woman cried out in a somewhat gentle voice, "blessings of the eight divines upon you, for you are all the—"

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with," the burly brown-haired Nord standing beside Ula barked, instantly stepping forward of his own accord and glaring at the woman with a fire in his eyes. "There are _nine_ divines… you've shamed us."

"As you wish," the woman murmured, lowering her eyes and slowly turning around with her head lowered. "I'm sorry."

Ula felt as though she were going to hyperventilate when the man holding the axe smiled eagerly from beneath his executioner's mask.

She watched with wide eyes as the Imperial woman, the captain, sneered at the prisoner's back.

"Come on!" the man bellowed, spitting on the ground as the woman sauntered up behind him and put a hand on his back. "I haven't got all morning!"

Ula felt her heart flop when the burly Nord was roughly pushed to his knees, head being forced onto the blood-stained cement block. Her eyes were drawn to the wooden box right in front of the groove that had been carved into it. Her stomach instantly lurched and she nearly threw up when she thought about her head falling in there.

"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials," the burly blue-clad man stated defiantly, smirking up at the executioner with cold green eyes; the masked villain lifted the axe high above his head and sneered down at him in triumph. "Will you ever be able to say the same thing?"

Ula's eyes widened when the axe came down: she immediately squeezed them as tight as she could, jerking her face away and turning it towards the ground. However, she heard a sickening squelching noise and immediately felt her stomach turn upside down. Doubling over and heaving up the little that was in her stomach, the girl started sobbing hysterically and nearly collapsed due to her shaking knees. She didn't care if the people in Blue were criminals or warriors: this was wrong.

"You imperial bastards!" a Stormcloak woman screeched. "How could you?!"

"Justice!" a man jeered from somewhere nearby, cheering on the inhumane slaughter that had just occurred in front of him.

"Death to the Stormcloaks!" a woman eagerly cried; her voice was full of venom and sickening glee.

"As fearless in death as he was in life," Ralof stated woefully, lowering his head and closing his eyes in pain. "Goodbye, my friend."

Ula glanced at him, but she nearly fainted when she saw the man's decapitated trunk lying beside the cement block out of the corner of her eyes; it was spewing a thick stream of blood onto the ground, and something white was sticking out of the spot where his neck was supposed to be. The teenager immediately retched and doubled over again, coughing hysterically with stinging eyes.

Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep from passing out.

"Next," the imperial woman called, looking at Ula with wicked glee in her eyes. "The elf child."

Ula froze like a statue, muscles locking up as her world spun; the second the words left the Imperial's lips, the echoing roar from before drifted through the air… but it seemed to be coming from the other direction this time; everyone aside from the tiny mute looked up in the direction of the ominous noise. The sound of that roar once again stirred something within her, making the girl want to shriek back for some reason.

She felt as though it were calling for her, specifically...

"There it is again," the Imperial with the scroll muttered, scanning the sky. "Did you hear that?"

"I said _next prisoner!_ " the woman called, looking a little irritated. "Don't interrupt me, Hadvar."

"To the block, prisoner," Hadvar sighed, putting his scroll in a pouch at his side. "Nice and easy."

Ula's amethyst eyes had gone blank at the sound of the creature's call.

She almost robotically moved forward with no expression on her face, slowly stepping towards the block.

A soft gust of wind swept through her thigh-length hair, rippling her tresses and making them gleam like moonlight.

When she came to, Hadvar was looking her straight in the eyes.

She gazed back at him with an expression that plainly asked, ' _How could you?_ '

He immediately averted his eyes when tears trickled down her cheeks.

Ula felt weak when the Imperial woman ran a seemingly gentle hand through her long hair only to grab a fistful of it and force her down on her knees: because her pathetic height didn't allow her to do very much, the albino didn't have a lot of muscle on her body. Hence why it was fairly easy for the captain to force her head onto the block. Ula nearly vomited when she saw that the burly man who had been decapitated was still opening and closing his mouth in a twitchy manner.

She instantly turned her head and stared up at the bearded executioner, terror jolting through her heart when she saw his smile.

A breeze swept her long hair across her face, obscuring the sight of his sneer.

However, just as the man gripped the axe and the girl was about to close her eyes, something black and enormous flew out from above one of the mountains and let out a roar that made her heart fly into the clouds. Involuntarily, her mouth opened wide and she let out an answering gasp: the mark once again reappeared on her throat and her eyes literally exploded with bright blue light.

She immediately gazed at the winged creature, and after a moment, she realized it was a dragon.

A _giant_ dragon... and the beast was currently flying towards the tower that Ula was facing.

"What in Oblivion is that?!" General Tullius squalled.

"Sentries, what do you see?!" the captain barked.

"It's coming down from the clouds!" a Nord voice bellowed.

The executioner lifted his axe and was about to cut her head off when the scaly creature landed on the outpost.

The man went flying forward with the gust of air that followed its landing.

Ula's breath caught and her eyes went wide when the dragon's glowing yellow irises fixed on her glowing blue ones.

[Their gazes locked for a chilling moment in time.](https://m.soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/si-bossfight-stage2)

"DRAGON!" a woman wailed in shock. "IT'S A DRAGON!"

The sound of swords being drawn filled Ula's ears, but the dragon's unblinking eyes held her attention.

She felt as though looking away would be a dangerous thing to do. 

The mute girl didn't even blink when the executioner staggered around and threateningly hefted his axe, but her heart nearly stopped when the creature drew its head back. She flinched when it let out a scratchy noise and released a wall of translucent white energy from its mouth, which was soon accompanied by a clap of deafening thunder that blew several people off their feet.

The girl's eyes went wide with terror when she saw the sky beginning to swirl with clouds... clouds that soon formed a cyclone of destruction.

Not even a second later, a powerful screeching wind tossed her silver hair around and she was violently blown off the cement block. She landed on her side and rolled nearly three times before coming to a halt on her stomach: she could faintly make out the sound of thunderous crashes, and she felt the earth trembling beneath her body, but when she struggled to get up... she couldn't do it.

"Guards!" General Tullius cried, catching Ula's attention. "Get the townspeople to safety!"

"Divines!" a man cried. "How's it moving so damn f—AAAAGH!"

Ula flinched and smacked her head flat against the ground when a wave of scorching heat seared directly above her, obviously engulfing someone who hadn't had good reflexes. After the heat faded, she struggled to roll over, but something had fallen on top of her: she was pinned against the ground. No matter how much she struggled, the girl couldn't get to her feet, and whatever was on her back was too heavy to move without using her arms.

Both of which, conveniently enough, just happened to be tied up and pinned beneath her body.

 _Help me!_ Ula silently wailed, kicking her legs in an attempt to catch someone's attention. _Help me help me help me help me help me—_

All of a sudden, the weight on her back was gone and someone was jerking her upright by the scruff of her dress.

"Come on, Girl!" Ralof shouted, jerking her around by the shoulder; he dragged her out of the way as an object that looked horridly like a meteor smashed into the ground only a few feet away. "We have to run! The Gods won't give us another chance! Run to the keep over there! Come on!"

When the man started gesturing towards the area where Lokir had died, Ula glanced at all of the collapsing buildings in horror as flaming balls rained down on them.

She didn't waste any time arguing after that.

Several of the meteors raining down from the sky looked as though they were being blown around by the clouds: moving meteors meant that a ball of fire could slam down anywhere at any time. Tossing her snarled silver hair out of her eyes, the mute girl bent low and sprinted so fast that her tresses flew behind her body in a gleaming silver wave. She heard heavy footsteps behind her and assumed that Ralof was following her, but she didn't take the chance of looking over her shoulder to find out.

She wanted to get out of danger and find out what was happening.

She wanted to go home.

No... that wasn't possible: she had almost forgotten that her home was gone.

She had no home to return to.

The girl bit back tears as she bounced up the steps and darted into the keep.

Once she was safe, Ula immediately doubled over and fought to catch her breath.

After she'd caught her wind, she stood up to see Ralof slamming the door shut behind Jarl Ulfric, who had originally been gagged.

Ula twitched and looked up in fright when the building abruptly shook on its foundations: she shivered violently.

Two men were lying on the ground amidst splatters of blood, and a third was tending the smaller of the two.

"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing?!" Ralof cried, looking at the formerly gagged man. "Could the legends be true?!"

"Legends don't burn down buildings!" Ulfric Stormcloak stated in a regal voice, looking up with a calm flick of his eyes when the ceiling shuddered and a roaring screech echoed from outside. "We need to move! Now!"

"Where are we going to move?!" one of the soldiers bellowed before pointing at the door. "I only see one exit, and it's currently being blocked off by falling fireballs! Aside from that, there's only one set of stairs leading to the roof of an insanely high tower! How in Shor's Blood are we going to get out of this place without breaking our legs or getting our bodies blown to bits?! Where can we go?!"

"Up through the tower!" Ralof barked, shooting him a glare before stepping forward and running up the stairs. "Let's go!"

Ula swallowed and hesitantly darted after him.

Ralof stopped when an Imperial soldier halted him with a hand: the stairway was blocked.

"Just give me another moment," he stammered fearfully. "I'll have this cleared out in no time at a—AAAAGH!"

Ula jerked backwards when the wall abruptly exploded inwards and crushed him.

When the black dragon's head was thrust into the gap, however, the blonde man whirled around and pinned the girl against the wall using his superior strength and heavier body-weight. Her large eyes shimmered when the dragon breathed in, but then it let out a gout of fire with a horrific screeching noise, ensuring that the crushed man was dead.

Then it flew away.

Once Ralof was sure the monster was gone, he gripped her arm again and dragged her up the stairs towards the hole. He examined the area around them before glancing down at the burning house below; then he pulled Ula forward and gestured towards a building with a burning straw roof that rested nearly fifteen feet below them. Her stomach flipped since it was such a long way down.

"See that Inn on the other side?" Ralof demanded, gesturing at the building. "Jump through the roof and keep going!"

Ula jolted and did an extreme double take, staring at him in total disbelief: the look she was giving him clearly said, 'you're insane.'

"Oi, it's either that… or getting burned to death after having your skull crushed like a berry," Ralof pointed out, cocking an eyebrow and purposely glancing at the rocks that somehow seemed to be oozing their own red fluid; Ula immediately shuddered and her face twisted up in revulsion, but she looked at the man with uncertainty in her eyes. "Go, Lass! We'll follow you when we can, but you need to get out of here!"

For a long moment, the girl merely stared at him... but then she whimpered, rolled her shoulders, took a step back, and eyed the distance.

Then, with a hysterical huffing sob, the girl sprinted forward and leapt out of the hole in the stone wall, long hair billowing out behind her like a cloud of silver. Her wide eyes were full of terror as she descended, but then she landed hard and ended up falling on her side. Frantically ignoring the pain, the albino crawled to her feet and fearfully staggered through the burning building, ducking around the pieces of flaming straw and wood that were raining down around her.

After making it to the end of the building, she came to a hole in the floor and looked down at it.

From what she could see, there was no other way out, so she sat down and scooted towards the edge in the hopes of not injuring herself. However, before she could attempt to get down, the entire building shook as the dragon passed by and she lost her balance a second time: letting out a breathless gasp, Ula fell through the floor and landed on her back, instantly knocking the wind out of herself; she slowly rolled over with a silent groan, trying to breathe right.

"Hamming, get over here!" a familiar voice shouted. "Hamming, you need to get over here, now!"

The pale girl shakily hefted herself upright and peered outside to see Hadvar and another man beckoning to the little green-eyed boy from earlier.

Just as the crying child stumbled to his feet with shaking limbs, the black dragon landed only a few yards away from him. The girl's eyes widened in horror when the kid ran behind the building. Just as the dragon took a deep breath, however, she spotted him… the child's father was lying on the ground right in front of the black dragon. However, there was no time to react: the girl jumped backwards and landed painfully on her tailbone behind a pile of debris.

She couldn't cover up the sound of the man's scream, and she somehow knew it would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Once the monster took off again, she made her way out into the open.

"Still alive, prisoner?" Hadvar demanded, looking her up and down with observant brown eyes. "Well, keep close to me if you want to stay that way. Gunnar, take care of your nephew! I have to find General Tullius and join the defense!"

"Gods guide you, Hadvar," the old man wept, looking over his nephew's head at the man. "Be careful."

Turning her back on the old man and little boy, Ula fled after the Imperial soldier: when they passed by the corpse that had once been a little boy's dad, she swallowed hard and tried to avoid looking as she passed... but her eyes watered, even when Hadvar led her into a crumbling alley between a burning house and a stone wall. The man skidded to a halt in front of a small drop before leaping down.

"Stay close to the wall!" he shouted, looking up and cowering down just as the dragon landed on it. "Hurry!"

Ula's eyes widened and she dove in after him, pressing her back against the stone just as the monster took a deep breath. However, she thought she heard some sort of weird language exploding from its mouth when it breathed more fire… not just an unintelligible roar. However, she squeezed her eyes shut as more screams erupted from behind the corner of the alleyway.

She nearly vomited all over again when the smell of burnt flesh hit her nose.

"General Tullius, over here!" a man called, making Hadvar's head snap up in surprise. "Into the keep! We're heading into the keep!"

"Quickly, follow me!" he shouted at Ula, turning to look at her with commanding eyes. The albino wordlessly did as she was told, sprinting past burning corpses as unintelligible shouts, screams, cries, and terrified moans of pain filled the air right along with the sound of explosions. The girl's eyes were wide and she was shaking with the effects of an extreme adrenaline rush of some sort. "It's just you and me, prisoner! Stay close!"

When she did as he asked, she nearly bashed her face on his armor since he unexpectedly jerked to a halt.

Then he whirled and grabbed her arm, jerking her forward with a crushing grip.

Startled, Ula began struggling against him, eyes widening in horror.

Had she fallen right into a trap? Was this man going to hurt her or worse?!

"Let go of the elf child, Hadvar!" a familiar voice thundered, making her amethyst eyes widen in hope. "Hand her over to me and I'll let you go!"

"Ralof, you damned traitor!" the imperial screamed, face turning bright red. "Get out of my way! This girl obviously isn't a normal elf! If she's an elf at all!"

"Unhand her! That girl's home was destroyed by your men, Hadvar," the blonde man roared, thick neck tensing in anger. "You're not stopping me! Let her go!"

"Fine! If you want her so much, take her! I don't even want her with me!" Hadvar snarled, gripping Ula's arm and violently throwing the girl at the Nord; the mute stumbled and let out a startled gasp when her face smacked into Ralof's chest. "I hope that dragon takes you both to Sovengarde, you bastard!"

"Come on!" Ralof bellowed, jerking the albino off her feet and carrying her in his arms like he would a child. "We need to get into the keep!"

Ula shook her head in protest, flailing her arms and legs in hysteria as she was carried into the dark.

Her struggles went ignored... and soon after, the doors closed behind them, encasing the terrified girl in darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Spider Panic!**

"Stop struggling!" Ralof growled, brows furrowing when Ula frantically started beating her fists against his shoulders. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

Ula would have none of it: she struggled with everything she had in her.

She did NOT like being manhandled!

Once the doors had slammed behind them, the burly Nord ignored her weak little punches since they really didn't hurt all that much; Ula's flailing, on the other hand, was making it difficult to get a good hold on her. After a moment of thought, he all but dropped her to the ground and smirked when she cracked her head against the stone. He watched as she rolled over on her side and curled into a ball, holding her aching head... but when she sat up and gave him a look of tearful indignation, he snorted in irritated amusement.

"You wanted me to put you down," the man growled, cocking an eyebrow at her stunned expression. "However, that doesn't mean you were entitled to me doing it gently."

Before she could even do so much as scowl, he spotted something across the room and gasped, running right past her.

She watched with wary pink eyes as he bolted over to someone lying partially hidden under a small square table; there was a candle and some empty cups on it, as well as a book. Ralof slowly knelt down and checked for a pulse, but his rugged face became solemn after a moment.

"We'll meet again in Sovengarde, brother," he muttered, eyes closing in pain. "You were a strong soul."

Ula's face went slack with horror when she approached the man lying on the ground; she shakily gestured at him in confusion, catching Ralof's attention.

"Yes, he's dead," the man muttered, looking up at her pale face and watching how her pupils dilated from the shock. "In fact, right now it looks as though we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon, no doubt... just like the children's stories and the legends: the harbingers of the End Times."

A screeching roar echoed from outside the keep, seeming to be agreeing with his obvious statement.

However, there was one thing that still kept Ula from falling apart at the seams: she didn't believe any of it was real. It was impossible: it seemed like nothing about the world made sense anymore, so it had to be a nightmare, or a hallucination, or something—anything—other than reality.

Unfortunately enough for her… this experience still felt way too real to be a simple dream.

"We'd better get out of here," Ralof stated warily, eyeing the ceiling when trails of dust fell from the ancient cobblestones. "Come here, child: let me see if I can get your bindings off. Damn imperials must have tied the knot too tightly if it made your wrists bleed."

Ula swallowed before hesitantly stepping forward and holding her arms out with a trembling mouth; she squeezed her eyes shut when he pulled out his sword. The man snorted, rolling his eyes at her terrified expression before he gently began sawing at the ropes. After a few moments of doing this, relief surged into the girl's hands and the binds fell to the ground; Ula instantly sighed in relief and rubbed her stinging wrists, eying the bleeding circlets that had ensnared her skin. They'd bound her so tightly that her fingers had turned blue... she slowly rubbed her hands, wincing at the pins and needles prickling through her body.

"You might as well take Bastion's gear," Ralof stated, making her head fly up in alarm. "He won't need it anymore."

Ula's eyes widened in horror and she blinked before looking down at the dead man's closed eyes.

Heart lurching, she instantly threw her hands up and made a 'no-way!' gesture before mimicking punching someone in the nose and frantically shaking her head.

When he stared at her in confusion, not making the connection with what she wanted him to know, the girl smacked her forehead and sighed.

Trying again, she gestured at the sword in his hands before pointing at herself and shaking her head, giving a little shrug at the end.

"Shor's Blood... are you trying to say," Ralof asked in a low voice, making her shiver violently, "that you don't know how to fight? That you don't even know how to use a sword?"

Ula swallowed and hesitantly closed her eyes before giving a reluctant nod.

"Well... this is a problem," the man stated, sounding extremely tired. "I don't have time to babysit you, so stay out of the way until I can find us a way out of here."

With that, he headed over to the gate and started tinkering with the handle.

Ula's face fell since there was no way she could be angry over that insult: she hated admitting it to herself, but his words really stung... simply because he was right. Then again, so what if she couldn't fight? She could still use healing magicka, even if it was nowhere near as strong as Svena's... and she could also conjure fire from her palms! Although... Svena was way better at it than her. In fact, her missing friend had always been better at using Magicka: no matter what her elders said about the so-called mysterious elemental powers she possessed.

Ula didn't believe she could control the weather like they'd said... quite the contrary, it was usually the weather that controlled her.

On rainy days, she felt sad... the music resonating in the world around her became sorrowful: it always, always made her feel the same.

Lightning storms made the resounding world clash in angry harmony... in those moments, it was almost as though Spirits of Song were doing battle with one another.

She'd always felt short-tempered on those days.

And who really cared if flowers started blooming wherever she decided to go? Who cared if they grew directly in the path of her footsteps? She didn't understand it at all herself, and she hadn't understood why it'd made everyone panic, especially since it only made everything around her look that much more beautiful. She didn't possess any type of powerful magicka... although, she really didn't understand why flowers and other green things bloomed around her.

That was pretty much the only thing that didn't have a rational explanation as far as she could tell.

Ula pouted when Ralof wiped his brow and continued tinkering.

She could conjure a bit of fire and heal him a little if she needed to: she wasn't completely helpless, at least.

"Ugh, the lock on this gate was made much too well for me to pick with my limited knowledge," Ralof finally muttered, catching the girl's attention; Ula blinked like an owl when he threw his busted lock pick away and worriedly glanced at the other gate. "Let's see about that one over there."

The girl looked down at her hands and focused, trying to conjure flames the way Svena had taught her to: her brow furrowed and she swallowed.

Even trying her hardest, nothing happened.

 _Come on_ , she silently pleaded, biting her lip and straining her soul with all her might. _Come on... burn for me... please, ignite..._

Ula was interrupted when Ralof let out an unexpected snarl of dismay.

"Damn!" the man barked, shaking his head in disgust. "There no way to open it from our side! We're trapped in here!"

Ula's heart instantly skipped a beat.

However, before the blonde man could say more, the sound of a rusty gate being opened made the two of them freeze. Ralof instantly peered through the bars: when two men and the Imperial captain rushed into the corridor at the opposite end, the blonde man instantly pulled Ula off to the side and covered her mouth.

"It's the imperials," he hissed, giving her a warning glance. "Stay right here! if they attack, get under the table! Don't worry… I was tutored how to battle by Ulfric Stormcloak himself."

"Come on, men, keep moving!" the woman in the hall shouted angrily, making the man tense. "We have to get out of here!"

A few seconds later, the sound of a lock clicking assaulted Ula's ears and Ralof dragged her as far away from the gate as possible. Then he let her go, shoved her down on the ground, and drew his sword before taking on a battle stance. The moment the Captain opened the gate and ran through, she spotted them and drew her weapon, snarling like a savage animal rather than a woman; Ralof instantly cracked his neck, but otherwise remained unaffected by her open hostility.

"Stormcloak Bastards!" one of the men behind her shouted, drawing his sword and lunging at the blonde man. "Die!"

Ralof easily parried the blow and socked the guy in the stomach so hard that he was lifted off his feet and practically impaled by the Nord's fist; then he threw up the contents in his stomach and went limp as he passed out, still in the air with his feet dangling on the ground. Ralof tossed his unconscious body aside and deflected a blow from the other man before cracking him in the back of the neck with his elbow: he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The captain narrowed her eyes at the blonde man, eying him up and down.

"You didn't kill my men," she stated simply, still expressing open hostility even though it was now marred with skepticism. "Why?"

"Needless bloodshed is pointless right now, when so many casualties are happening to innocent civilians," Ralof retorted in a thundering voice, glaring down at the Imperial woman with narrowed eyes. "Sheathe your blade and no more need be said."

"And in the process, I get charged with treason for letting a Stormcloak dog escape," the woman sneered, bouncing from foot to foot with a smirk on her face. "I'd rather die in battle than lose my honor and pride, thank you very much. Give me all you got."

"With pleasure, Imperial wench," Ralof growled, stepping forward with his blade held up; however, a ball of fire unexpectedly exploded past his head and knocked the the woman off her feet. When she landed on her back and her sword clattered on the ground, Ula bolted forward with brightly glowing hands and leapt on top of her chest before pinning her arms down using all of her strength. "What in blazes do you think you're you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Ula didn't even twitch at his question: the girl was glaring down into the woman's startled eyes with enraged tears streaming down her cheeks. This woman was the same one who'd sentenced her to death even though she hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't broken any laws, she hadn't committed a single crime, she hadn't done anything... and yet, after losing everything she held dear in only one day, this woman had gathered enough audacity to sentence Ula to death.

And that... well, that had triggered rage as well as an adrenaline rush.

Eyes shining with infuriated tears, the white-haired girl spat on her face with an expression of hatred.

"YUCK! You nasty wench! I'll gut you like a fish, little girl!" the woman screeched, fighting against Ula's smoldering hands when the girl's touch began to burn. "OWWW! It burns! Augh, Shor's Blood, you'll never escape from the empire once I get out of here! I'll have your head put on a stake as a warning! I'll kill you if these burns scar up! I swear it!'

Ula would have none of it: taking a deep breath, the pale girl drew her fist back and clumsily punched the woman in the nose with all of her strength. Then she did it again... and again... and again, beating the woman's face in until she knew her nose was broken and she'd fallen unconscious. Chest heaving with rage, Ula shakily slid off of her chest and looked down at her bloodied hands with a tight expression.

The woman's head lolled, sending blood running down her cheek.

"That was impressive," Ralof stated bluntly, eying her shaking shoulders with a raised eyebrow. "You have more courage than I thought..."

Ula merely turned her back on him, tentatively struggling to heal her aching wrists. She kept her eyes focused on the task with a sullen, pouting expression. He rolled his eyes and began searching the unconscious Imperials for the key; then he howled in triumph and started twirling the entire ring on his finger.

"Looks like we're not as trapped as I thought," the Nord muttered, shaking his head in amusement before trotting forward and sticking the key in the lock; once it was open, the man sighed in relief and glanced at her. "All right, let's get out of here before that damned dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads. Keep your guard up and don't fall behind!"

Ula gave him a shaky nod and hiked up her dress skirt, following him at such a fast pace that her hair was blown out of her face. The girl ran through the tower and fled down a set of spiraling stairs after Ralof, bare feet barely making a sound against the cobblestone: the only thing she could hear was her panting and her own frantic heartbeat. Then they came to an open gateway ensnared by wooden beams.

The man ran through it and turned left, hurrying down another large corridor.

The moment Ula followed him, however, the entire foundation of the building rocked and she was thrown to her knees. 

She looked up just in time to see the corridor ahead of them being buried under huge piles of debris that blocked off the entire hall; a deafening roar thundered in her ears, forcing the mute into clamping her hands over them. Once the dust had settled and the dragon was gone again, Ula slowly crawled to her feet and looked at the barred corridor with dismayed eyes.

Ralof got up as well and trotted over to the collapsed stone, eying it up and down with a cocked eyebrow.

"Damn," Ralof whistled, eying the impassable area with amazed eyes. "That dragon doesn't give up easy."

Ula nodded in agreement and fearfully looked up at the stone ceiling before looking around for an alternate escape route. However, the sound of a loud voice emanating from a nearby door made her jump nearly a foot in the air: she immediately covered her mouth with both hands.

"We need to get out of here!" the speaker barked loudly; Ralof instantly drew his sword. "Grab everything you can!"

Ula watched with unhappy eyes as the man stealthily crept into the room before following him.

"I just need to gather some more potions!" another, almost British-sounding voice protested. "Please, give me more time, master!"

"A Pox on the Empire!" Ralof boomed, charging forward and raising his sword high. "Yaaaaagh!"

"Stormcloaks!" the armored man exclaimed, hastily drawing his sword; however, before he could react, Ralof was on top of him.

Ula flinched and covered her eyes, shakily peering at the battle between her fingers.

However, her pupils dilated when Ralof deflected two attacks and slit the man's throat in a spray of blood.

Then he turned on the younger soldier; his brown eyes went wide and he started fumbling for the dagger at his belt, even though he was obviously terrified. Ula was about to step forward to reason with Ralof, but just as she made to do so... the blonde man whipped his blade forward and cut his throat as well. The Imperial boy choked and collapsed, clutching his neck only a split second before the blood began spewing from his artery. Ula's heart flew up into her throat and she covered her mouth, eyes unbelievably large with horror.

Then her blood froze in its veins, because the Nord turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you coming or not?" he inquired in a monotone, making the girl shiver violently with fright. "We'd best be off."

 _How many people did he have to kill not to feel anything for the men he just slaughtered?_ Ula wondered in horror, following him a little more reluctantly. _Divines... help me..._

"A storeroom?" Ralof suddenly muttered, looking around at the barrels before shrugging and walking around the corner. "See if you can find any potions or salves: we'll likely need them later on, especially if you're a mage. I've heard that using magicka is just as energy-taxing as fighting with a weapon, so I think we would be better off safe than sorry."

Giving him a tiny scowl, the tiny girl reluctantly made her way over to the sacks resting underneath the moldy-looking shelves. In one she found nothing but rotten tomatoes, in the other she found flour, and in the third she found three fresh green apples: her stomach instantly rumbled.

Swallowing guiltily, the girl picked up two of the apples and stuffed the third in her dress pocket; when she glanced at Ralof to see what he was doing, she realized that he was searching for useful items as well.

The girl's long ears drooped in dismay and she finally walked over to the nearby desk, lifting a few of the bottles on it and removing the stoppers.

After that, she took a few hesitant sniffs: she'd always had an excellent sense of smell, so she could easily detect what kind of herbs had been put inside these concoctions.

Ula blinked in surprise after smelling each of them, realizing that they were nearly identical to the potions that Svena had sometimes whisked together in her kitchen.

She instantly put the stoppers back in and slipped the tiny glass potion flasks inside her other pocket.

"Find anything useful?" Ralof inquired, looking up from the barrel he was rummaging around in; the girl nodded, then tossed him one of the apples.

 _I might as well nibble on my apple_ , Ula dejectedly realized, closing her eyes for a moment; then she bit into it and shivered since it was extremely tart. _Ugh... Shor's blood, it's so sour_!

"Thank you," the man grunted, taking a big bite of the fruit she'd given him before he glanced at her bulging pockets. "Are you done? If so, let's get moving again."

The girl nodded around her mouthful of apple, watching with worried eyes as he opened the door.

Ralof then rolled his eyes and headed down another hall.

Ula followed him at an easy pace down a set of stone steps, but when the two of them turned to head down a very steep set of stairs, the man halted.

"Troll's blood!" Ralof hissed, eyebrows shooting up in shock. "It's a torture room!"

Ula's feet slid to a halt and her eyes went wide with fright. 

"Stop it!" a woman cried angrily, letting out a whine as an electrical noise filled the air. "No! Mercy! I cannot best you! AAAAH! NO! Divines, HELP ME!"

"Hear that?" Ralof asked in a low voice, hefting his blade and stealthily making way down the stairs. "Sounds like an attack!"

"Leave her alone!" another man roared. "Get off of her!"

The sound of metal on metal ensued, but Ula nearly choked when a raw-throated scream split the air only a few moments later.

Throwing the apple away, she sprinted past Ralof and skidded around the corner…

Only to crash right into a man wearing red armor.

He instantly whirled around and grabbed her by the throat.

"What do we have here?" he asked in a twisted tone, eying her up and down in surprise; the girl's eyes became rounder than dinner plates when he unexpectedly drew his thin finger along her lips and touched her pointed ear. "Well, well, well... are you a little mouse who somehow lost her way? If that's the case, let me make you feel welcome."

Ula's eyes widened even further and she tried to pull away from him, but the man clutched her throat and squeezed so tightly that she saw spots.

She was then lifted clean off the ground by his grip alone: the mute girl flailed around and clutched at his wrists, trying to lift herself up so she could breathe.

Her pale face slowly started turning purple as he leered at her body.

"It would be a waste just to kill you…" he finally snickered, reaching for the front of her dress. "You will do nicely."

The albino blanched when he realized what he was intending to do to her.

With a strangled wheeze, she slapped her hands against his cheeks and held them there despite his crushing grip on her throat, struggling to make fire explode from her palms. No fire shot out, but her hands _did_ start glowing with extremely hot power: the man immediately began to scream since her touch was burning his face, but then he let her go and dropped his sword to rub his burning eyes and cheeks. Ula landed hard on her side and started coughing hysterically, clutching her throat and wheezing as she tried to get air back into her lungs.

The moment he grabbed his weapon and tried to cut her down, Ralof came running around the corner and slaughtered the man.

Then he turned around and glanced at the two Stormcloaks lying dead on the floor.

"We were too late," the Nord bluntly spat, clenching his sword with shaking fists; then he glanced at the panting albino girl. "Are you alright?"

Ula simply nodded and rubbed her aching throat, unable to get the feeling of his hands off her skin.

She was literally feeling the urge to scrub herself off in a warm bath.

"Well, we'd best get going then... oi, wait a moment! Look: I think there's something in that cage," Ralof muttered, jogging over to a nearby prison and jiggling the handle. "Ah, damn… it's locked. Just give me a moment... I want to see if I can jiggle this thing open."

The Nord man then took two picks out of his pocket and gently slid them into the lock. Ula kept her eyes trained on his fingers and watched how he moved them around, feeling confused. However, much to her surprise, there was suddenly a loud click and Ralof was pulling the cage door open. 

Then he stepped aside and made a sarcastic flourish.

"Ladies first?" he asked, quirking his brow in a mocking fashion. "I presume you won't mind the corpse in here."

Ula scowled before turning her head away and refusing to look at him.

The Nord headed inside the cage, kneeling down and examining the coins strewn over the floor of it with a calculating gaze.

After a few moments, he grabbed up everything he could see and made his way out, slipping the money into a satchel at his belt.

"I'll split it evenly when we get out of here," the blonde man muttered; then he unexpectedly dropped a book into Ula's lap. "Unfortunately, I'm not the reading type. I don't know my letters, so you can have that if you want it. Now, let's get going. We've delayed far too long already."

Ula finally stood up, clutching the book he'd given her close to her chest, and went after him at an easy jog once again; then they came to a tunnel that apparently led to several exits. Even though she had a bad feeling, she allowed Ralof to drag her down the incline; the girl was surprised when he slipped and had to jump the rest of the way, but he at least had the decency to let go of her before doing so.

The two of them continued on into the cave, keeping quiet and listening to the sound of flowing water become louder.

However, an unexpected set of voices soon forced the unlikely duo into stopping.

"The orders are to wait until General Tullius arrives," a man angrily thundered. "Have faith in the general!"

"I'm not waiting to be killed by a dragon!" another man shouted in response. "We need to fall back!"

"Just give the general some time," the first voice retorted.

"For Skyrim!" Ralof suddenly bellowed, drawing his sword and charging around the bend in the cave. "Run to the exit, lass! I'll be there shortly!"

Ula didn't need to be told twice: ducking her head and lowering her shoulders, the girl high-tailed it past the ensuing fight and sprinted across a cobblestone bridge. She darted past several burning torches and a puddle that had pooled on the stone before skidding a little and running across another stone bridge. That's when it happened: in the blink of an eye, the very second before she'd made it across, three men wearing red armor ran up the stairs that lay right next to the safety of the landing.

Ula gasped and attempted to skid to a halt, but her feet slipped on the wet stone and she landed on her butt.

An arrow sliced through the air right where she had been standing, making her face pale.

"Get her!" one of them men wielding a sword bellowed, and the man in front of him notched another arrow. "Don't let her escape!"

After taking a deep breath and preparing herself for more pain, the girl realized she was still holding the book that Ralof had given her.

However, after glancing down at the cover, she froze since this was nearly identical to Svena's most treasured possession. It looked like the book that had taught her friend true magic. Thinking quickly, Ula opened the book and prepared to scan the pages for something useful, maybe a spell to defend herself… but instead of seeing words, what she got instead were images that sped right into her brain.

The images soon meshed with her knowledge.

She blinked several times as an odd violet light flashed behind her eyes... then the images faded and the first guard was standing above her with his sword drawn. Ula's eyes widened in horrified protest and she thrust her hands out in defense; two forked lightning bolts unexpectedly exploded from her palms and struck the man in the chest with a deafening clap of thunder.

The sound of it echoed through the mossy cavern and shook its very foundations.

The albino let out a stunned gasp before looking at her hands: she had absolutely no idea how she'd just done what she'd done. This time, her Magicka had been almost uncontrollable: it had literally just erupted from her body without warning. Back when Svena had been teaching her, it had taken months before the girl had actually managed to heal herself or produce a real flame.

Her mishap had been so easy that it was actually rather frightening.

"Run girl!" Ralof barked, disarming the man he was fighting with before running him through; his face showed no emotion whatsoever when he whirled around and decapitated another assailant."They cannot and will not show you mercy! Wait for me at the end of the tunnel! I'll catch up!"

Ula got to her feet and turned to give him a nod, but she didn't see one of the two remaining imperials lunging at her.

"Die, wench!" the red-clad man snarled, drawing his sword arm back. "You won't get past me!"

The girl stiffened when she heard the blade being swung at her from behind and immediately ducked under the blow.

She'd gotten lucky: the man's sword caught the ends of her hair instead of her head.

When he tried to attack again, Ula thrust her hands out again and more lightning lanced out of her fingertips with deafening cracks. The Imperial was blown clean off his feet and went flying straight into his comrade, both of them going down like empty sacks. After that, Ula fled up the crumbling stairs and tore into the next stone tunnel, pressing herself into a small alcove while she waited for Ralof to come join her.

The Nord passed by her nearly six minutes later.

Sliding out of her hiding place, the girl jogged up and tapped his arm.

However, she all but squeaked when his bloodied sword was suddenly being held against her throat: he'd whirled so fast she'd barely seen it.

"Shor's Blood, don't scare me like that!" he scolded, face relaxing almost immediately. "I nearly slit your throat! I thought you were an imperial!"

After that, the two of them took off together.

They continued on through many twists and turns until they came to a drawbridge.

Ula and Ralof had just made it to the end of it when another distant roar shook the tunnels. However, both of them lost their balance when the cobblestone floor bucked beneath their feet, causing the tremors to grow in intensity; the girl glanced over her shoulder with a start when the unexpected sound of a cave-in erupted behind them. Then the bridge was gone, exploding in a spray of wood and stone that soon vanished completely, leaving behind only clouds of thick dust and debris.

"No going back that way, now," Ralof noted, eying the demolished bridge. "We'd better push on, though... the rest of them will have to find another way out."

 _If there is another way,_ Ula sourly thought, flicking her hair out of her eyes before she trotted down another small set of stairs and landed on dark mud; the girl's mouth instantly curled in disgust and she shuddered since her feet sank down a bit. Noticing her extreme discomfort, Ralof gave her a wolfish grin.

"What's wrong, lass? A little mud and water never hurt anybody," the burly Nord chuckled, clomping through the mud before heading clean over to the stream and walking through it, boots and all. "In fact, it refreshes the soul and makes a person feel more alive."

 _He's crazy..._ the albino thought to herself, hiking her skirts and tiptoeing across the squishy earth; with dainty movements, the pale girl slipped over to the stream, shuddering before she wiggled her toes to get the mud off. _Ew! Ew! Ew! Nothing is more revolting than the sensation of mud between one's toes!_

Ula then followed the Nord downstream, being careful not to slip or cut her feet on the rocks beneath the water: they came to a halt in front of another cave-in.

Ralof looked rather perplexed, but after a moment he glanced at the natural cavern shooting off to the right with an expression of immense distaste.

He was obviously reluctant to head down the open cavern.

"The quick exit is blocked," he muttered, glancing down at Ula with narrowed eyes. "Let's try heading down this path."

Ula just so happened to notice a bunch of bones resting in a neat little pile next to a lantern, along with a pouch of coins.

She instantly gave him a look that said ' _you've gotta be kidding me_ ' and folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't give me that look: my blade will take care of any problems," Ralof muttered, filching the pouch from the shelf full of bones and clasping it onto his belt before hefting his weapon. "We have to keep moving: there's another way out through there."

Ula merely sighed before following Ralof down the natural cavern, making her way over the rocks and crags.

"I don't think this day is ever going to end," Ralof sighed, staring mournfully up at the ceiling when they came to an opening in the cavern. "Why now of all times?"

With that, he drew his sword again.

Ula looked up to see a bunch of roots surrounding her, but she immediately sensed something odd about the plant life.

They weren't resounding like they should have been... all plants had a distinct sort of voice: these voices resounded in a manner similar to insect life.

[Wait...](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/beyond-skyrim-cyrodiil-1)

Ula jumped so high in the air when one of the plants actually moved and turned to face them that her legs buckled and she fell after she landed. The girl let out a gasping wheeze that definitely would have been a scream had she been able to use her voice. Then she made the sound again, and again, regardless of whether or not anybody could hear it. She felt lightheaded when Ralof slowly crept forward.

Not long after that, Ula began to cry.

You see, the mute girl had an ingrained dread of creepy-crawlies—she _was_ a girl, after all—but amongst all of those fears, the biggest was her fear of spiders. Up until the age of eight, she had actually adored arachnids because their Life Songs were incredibly distinct and lovely for such little creatures… but then, during the night on a trip to go shopping in Windhelm with Svena, she had been bitten by a poisonous arachnid that had laid eggs in her skin.

She hadn't ever gotten over the trauma of waking up one morning to a mountain of eight-legged bugs exploding from a bloody hole in her arm.

However, the spiders in front of her weren't the size of a grape or a penny... _these_ spiders were enormous: the smallest of them was the size of a small wagon.

So, like any rational girl with a deep-set fear of spiders, she was frozen solid.

"Disgusting!" Ralof muttered, cleaving his way through the insects before jumping back and doing it all over again. "Let's just get this over with!"

Ula merely curled into a ball and buried her head in her knees, shaking all over.

After an eternity, Ralof was suddenly beside her, panting heavily.

"They're dead," He grunted, gripping her arm and pulling the shaken girl to her feet. "Hate those damn things. Too many eyes, you know?"

Ula merely swallowed hard and rubbed her puffy eyes, refusing to acknowledge his words.

Five minutes later, they came to another river and hesitantly crossed the natural stone bridge leading to the other side.

The two of them were just about to pass an old, abandoned wagon when Ralof froze and crouched down.

Ula did the same out of instinct.

"Hold up," the blonde hissed, hefting his sword as he eyed a sleeping lump of fur lying across another stone river. "There's a bear just ahead! See her?!"

A very distant roar and the dull thundering of a collapsing tunnel behind them was the only answer he received: Ula couldn't even nod.

She was so dazed by everything that her brain felt numb, and the adrenaline was literally the only thing keeping her body going.

"I'd rather not tangle with her right now," Ralof finally muttered, looking at the pale teenager sitting beside him. "Let's try to sneak by. Take it nice and slow, and watch where you step. Or, if you're feeling lucky, you can take the bow I found earlier. Might take her by surprise."

That jerked the girl out of her stupor: she immediately hissed in protest, frantically shaking her head back and forth.

"Then let's go," Ralof whispered, rolling his eyes. "You go first; I'll watch your back."

The next few minutes were spent sneaking past the sleeping bear without slipping and falling on the unsteady ground.

Ula's heart was thudding in her ears, and her palms shook as she tried to sneak past the animal with stealthy movements. Her heart leapt into her mouth when the beast suddenly lifted its head and looked around: the albino froze like a statue and squeezed her eyes shut, already feeling lightheaded with a silent scream.

When the creature lay back down and snuffled a bit, she all but scurried towards the safety of the sheltering rocks.

"That was close," Ralof stated in a low tone, wiping his forehead; however, when the two of them walked down the edge of the cavern, his next words nearly made Ula cry again... this time from sheer joy. "Hey! That looks like the way out! I knew we'd make it! Come on, let's get out of this twisted labyrinth!"

Ula watched as he slid into the blinding light and vanished, then hastily hurried after him.

What was waiting beyond... she had absolutely no idea whatsoever.

For now, though, she was alive... wonderfully, gloriously alive.

And no matter what it took, Ula was going to make sure it stayed that way.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Trek to Riverwood**

When Ula's eyes had adjusted to the light, her mouth dropped open in shock and her breath hitched.

For a long moment, she simply gaped at the gorgeous landscape around her, from the snow-encrusted pines to the glistening mountains that stretched endlessly into the distant sky. This was a very different view from the barren and rocky landscape that Darkwater Crossing had provided... in fact, these mountains looked even more entrancing than Darkwater lake.

She slowly lifted her hands and squeezed the front of her dress, knees wobbling only a moment before her eyes rippled with blue light.

For a moment, the strange symbol on her throat appeared out of nowhere and shone brightly for a moment... then it faded again.

Ralof glanced up with a start when the storm clouds resting high in the sky slowly started to part, bathing Skyrim in bright shafts of sunlight. Then the Nord turned and was about to gesture for her to follow him when the sound of thunderous wing-flaps made both of them freeze. Ula's dazed expression jolted back into a fearful one and she made as if to take off running, but Ralof gripped her arm.

"Wait!" the man hissed, looking up before gripping the albino's arms and dragging her towards the cover of a low rock. "Get down!"

The two of them huddled down, but a deafening roar passing directly above them nearly made the poor girl bite her tongue off by accident. She let out a chuffling, soundless sob when the black dragon flew overhead and pressed her back against Ralof's chest; however, soon after, the beast disappeared behind a few tall pine trees and kept flying. Another roar signified that it was moving farther away from them.

Still, that didn't stop her heart from pounding.

"There he goes," Ralof finally muttered, shaking his head and letting go of Ula's arms; the girl nearly toppled over. "Looks like he's gone for good this time. There's no way we'll know if anyone else made it out alive, but this place is going to be swarming with imperials soon enough. The two of us had better clear out of here. My sister, Gerdur, runs the mill in Riverwood up ahead, just up the road. I'm sure she'll help us, but for now, it's probably best if we split up."

[Ula twitched, looking positively horrified by the suggestion.](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/summerset-isles-ambient-day01)

Eyes already filling with tears, she staggered forward and gripped his sleeve between her pointer finger and her thumb. 

The touch was so light that he probably didn't even feel it, but he was looking straight at her.

Ula knew she probably looked terrified. She didn't want him to leave her behind... she was begging him with her eyes, and she was fully aware that he understood her silent plea by the expression on his face. And yet, even though she was pleading more than she'd ever done in her entire life, he jerked his arm free and straightened his armor, ignoring how she flinched.

"Good luck, Elf…" he stated a little sourly, giving her ears a somewhat distasteful expression. "I hate to admit it, but I wouldn't have made it out without your help."

With that, he cracked his thick neck and took off down the road at a trot.

Ula stiffened and held her hand out to him as though he would turn around and clasp it, knees shaking violently.

He didn't turn around... nor did he even look back.

He was growing smaller already.

Crying hysterically, Ula stumbled after him in a staggering run, trying to keep her legs from giving out: her hand was still outstretched, but no matter how fast she made herself go, he was still faster and she couldn't catch up. Then she tripped over a root and landed hard on her stomach... and when she looked up again, Ralof was still walking away from her.  His broad back was blurred by the tears in her eyes.

Ula's face screwed up as a surge of abandonment swept through her and she stretched her hand out again.

However, the man soon disappeared around a long bend on the mountainous trail.

Her outstretched hand dropped.

When tears began trickling down her face, she buried her head in her arms and let herself break down, unable to keep from crying hysterically.

She wept for so long that she couldn't even bother counting how much time had past when she'd finally stopped.

For the first time in her life, she had a horrid feeling that she'd just been used by someone… and the very fact that Ralof had only been thinking of himself when she had been thinking about both of them made the poor girl feel like she'd been kicked in the stomach. Sitting up on the rocky path, Ula struggled to wipe her streaming eyes, but for some reason the tears wouldn't stop even though her sobbing had.

It was almost as though the tension and fear she'd just endured were leaving through her eyes.

However, that's when two familiar voices made her heart nearly stop.

"Shor's Blood!" a woman gasped from somewhere nearby. "Look! There's smoke rising above the mountain top! Isn't that where Helgen is?!"

"Y-yes, it is, according to the map!" a male voice stammered, sounding completely shell-shocked. "Gods... whatever happened must have been big! The smoke trail's huge!"

"Divines! We have to hurry!" the woman cried, panting heavily; they seemed to be coming closer, although they were still far off. "I really hope that old woman didn't send us into some sort of trap... I swear, something seems fishy about going into a cave and ending up in a village stronghold!"

"All major outposts need a way to evacuate in case of an emergency," the man soothed. "All we have to do is sneak in and see what's going on!"

"But it's probably all on fire!" the woman snapped, sounding extremely fretful. "For all we know, Ula escaped on her own!"

The mute girl's eyes widened when Kai and Svena suddenly walked around the bend that Ralof had vanished on. Her heart instantly soared into the clouds and she summoned the strength she needed to crawl back to her feet. Her entire body swayed when she was standing upright, but then, regardless of her fatigue, she stumbled towards them with her arms outstretched.

Her pink eyes were shining with tears of fright and relief because her friends were _alive_. 

They were _safe_... and more than that, they'd cared enough to come looking for her.

Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks like miniature waterfalls when they finally saw her coming.

However, instead of looking happy, they both froze with identical looks of horror... and then they charged at her, screaming her name at the same time. When the world spun and she tripped again, she fell clean into Svena's arms; the curly-haired girl sank down to her knees with enormous blue eyes, embracing the albino and staring at Kai in mortification when she started crying all over again.

The young man merely stood with his mouth hanging open: he was stunned to the core by how awful Ula looked.

She had been severely injured at some point... it looked almost as though someone had beaten her savagely.

Her white hair was tangled and matted with soot, dried blood, and dirt... her milky skin was covered in scratches, bruises, and small burns... blood from her nose had completely coated her mouth and chin at some point, where it had dried and started flaking off... and, for the first time he'd ever seen, the girl was crying hysterically with eyes that looked completely shattered. She had obviously been through hell and back.

The thought sent a wave of rage searing through Kai's chest.

He clenched his fists, amber eyes smoldering like embers.

"Don't worry, Ula," Svena murmured soothingly, running a large and very motherly hand through the girl's tangled hair. "You're safe now... nobody will hurt you now that we've found you again, I promise. Please, hush... there's no need for tears, okay?"

In that moment, Ula felt an extreme surge of dislike for the name she'd been given.

She knew her real name... she had known it all along.

However, she hadn't been able to speak it, nor was she allowed to.

Someone she could barely remember had once told her not to ever speak... that it would make scary things happen.

Sadly, after the day she'd just had, the poor girl felt like nothing would ever seem scarier than what she'd seen.

Struggling to work her throat, the girl pushed away from Svena and choked violently, struggling to speak her name: her two friends watched in confusion as she beat her chest with shaking hands, staring at them with eyes that burned with an extreme amount of intensity. Then her eyes started glowing, and when the mark appeared for the third time, Svena jolted and stared at her neck in shock.

Finally, the mute took a deep breath... opened her mouth...

And spoke her very first sentence.

"I am not Ula..." she whispered, eyes unexpectedly flashing with a brilliant blue light. "I am _**Sora**_."

Kai and Svena jumped when the last word was accompanied by a soft rumble of thunder, one that seemed to come straight from her mouth.

The two of them glanced at each other with wide eyes when Ula's true name echoed off into the distance: truthfully, it couldn't even be called an echo, really, since it was much too different. Instead of fading away like a normal echo, it was almost as though the sound of her name itself had melded into the air around them and caused it to Vibrate for a few moments. 

However, the strangest part was this: for such a quiet whisper, her voice had traveled much, much farther than it should have.

The odd thunder had carried her name, soft as she'd spoken it, clean across the mountains.

Swallowing hard, Ula let out a sigh of relief.

The glowing light in her eyes and the mark on her throat slowly faded away after the rumbling sensation faded.

"Kai... did you _feel_ that?" Svena whispered, clutching her chest with shaken eyes and taking a deep breath. "What in Shor's blood... _was_ that?"

"I don't know! My whole body... no, even the _air_... it was _trembling_!" Kai stammered, shivering. "Ula... how did you do that?!"

When they glanced at her, the girl's eyes showed nothing but confusion.

Her friends instantly paused when she cocked her head and gave them a questioning expression, obviously not getting what they meant.

She apparently hadn't noticed the weird side effect that had come with speaking her name. Svena's eyes immediately narrowed and she frowned: Ula didn't even seem to be aware that her voice seemed to do strange things to the world around them during the exceedingly rare moments when she managed to speak a random word. This time, however, it had done something very odd indeed. 

Svena was extremely perceptive when it came to magicka.

And she suddenly had a weird feeling that Ula's inability to speak might not have been exactly natural.

"We should get out of here," the dark-skinned beauty finally sighed, glancing at Kai. "We need to find a place to rest."

"Why don't we head back to Riverwood and give Lady Hilde her map back before then?" the boy inquired, holding the parchment up. "We don't need it after all since we found Ula."

"Sounds like a good idea," Svena murmured, regarding Ula's large, tear-stained eyes with something close to affection. "So... your real name is Sora, huh?"

Ula's eyes flickered a bit before she hesitantly nodded.

"Sora... compared to Ula, your true name is way more beautiful," Kai mumbled iin embarrassment, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and glancing away from her with flushed cheeks; the older of the girls instantly grinned in a knowing manner and rolled her eyes. "Sora... why does that sound so familiar?"

"Eh?" Svena asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise before she frowned as well. "You're right... the name does sound familiar..."

"Odd," Kai muttered.

"I'll think on it after we get out of here," Svena sighed, helping her up and supporting her weight when her legs buckled. "Whoa! Careful!"

"So, we heading back to Riverwood?" Kai inquired, cracking his back before rolling his muscular shoulders. "It's not too far."

"Well, yes," Svena murmured, looking at the towering trees before glancing at the position of the sun, "I'd say we're heading to Riverwood."

When Ula glanced at them questioningly, Kai smiled a little.

"It's an old village resting about five miles down this path," he explained, stepping over a fallen log before lifting the girl off the ground and setting her down on the other side of it; then he did the same thing for Svena. "Although, it's mostly visited for its lumber trade… from what we saw after we arrived, there aren't very many shops there, and the blacksmith is an average metalworker."

"A blacksmith is... someone like Celine, right?" Svena naively inquired, looking at the clouds above as they headed downhill through the trees. "You know, a person who makes jewelry in a forge?"

"Well, I guess you could say that," Kai muttered pensively, thinking about it. "Our Blacksmith was into crafting things like jewelry, but most blacksmiths are hired for things like swords, armor, mirrors, and other paraphernalia. Celine and her father were... two of a kind."

"Don't use the past tense, Kai... really, shame on you! There were lots of people who weren't found among the bodies," Svena whispered in a hushed tone. "She and her father weren't found, either! They could have made it out for all we know! I'm sure we'll find them someday, but right now we have to focus on ourselves or we'll never make it!"

"You're right," Kai muttered, looking at Ula's shattered expression before wincing and turning away. "We need a plan..."

Svena was looking around with observant eyes, seeming to be just as stunned by the differences in scenery compared to Darkwater Crossing.

"Wow!" the girl suddenly gasped, looking at the pine trees below them when size and depth started making sense. "Kai, how big are the trees around here?! I've NEVER seen pines get so big!"

"I've heard that some get to be as tall as mountains near Whiterun," the burly teen chuckled, clasping his hands behind his head; however, when a rustling in the bushes caught his attention, he gripped the girls' arms and forced them to stand behind him. Ula's eyes widened when Kai picked up a wooden stick and held it in front of his body with flashing amber eyes, looking at the source of the rustling. "What's that?!"

Everyone tensed when the rustling grew louder, shaking a little from fear.

Then a rabbit hopped out of the bush.

Kai's expression went blank and he blinked when it lifted its head, eyeing the three of them; then it lazily hopped away.

"What's the matter, Kai?" Svena teased, giggling when he turned around with a somewhat baffled expression. "Don't tell me you were scared of a little bunny!"

"Oh, shut up!" the boy snapped, ears immediately turning red in embarrassment. "You were scared, too!"

"Was not!" the girl laughed, nudging Ula's shoulder before looking down at the girl. "Wasn't he scared, U... la?"

Both of them stared at their friend when they noticed that she was looking up at a high ridge that towered above the bush the bunny had hopped out of.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked, making her blink before looking around. "You okay?"

She nodded and gave him a shrug before pointing at her ear and shaking her head, signaling that she'd thought she'd heard something but had been wrong.

"Well, we'd better keep moving," Svena murmured, slowly picking up a wooden branch of her own. "I don't want to run into any imperials."

"I agree," Kai muttered, sighing a little bit when Ula tripped over a root and fell flat on her face with a gasp; Svena frowned deeply when she noticed that Ula's legs were still shaking, but when Kai saw that the girl was bleeding from a deep cut on her foot, he bent down and lifted the pale girl into his arms; he completely ignored the resulting flail of protest. The girl struggled a little before clamping down onto his neck with shaking arms. "Er, sorry for startling you, but you're bleeding."

"It's a smart decision," Svena acknowledged, nodding when the albino glanced at her. "I can't use any more healing magicka until I've rested."

"She was tending to the survivors from the village after the attack," Kai explained, marveling at how Ula could still smell good even after everything she'd obviously been through. "I'm amazed she can even stand upright, let alone hike into the mountains AND keep pace with me. She healed so many people that she fainted twice. Still, I don't want your foot to get infected, so just relax and let me do the walking for now."

Ula let out a whining huff of air before giving a nod and looking at the ground.

The three friends became silent after that: none of them really knew what to say and speaking seemed sort of awkward. However, when Svena looked ahead and saw three odd-looking pillars that had been overgrown with roots, she smiled and gasped in delight.

"Those are the ancient Guardian Stones!" the girl squealed, gesturing at the pillars before whirling around with shining cerulean eyes. "Kai, one of those will tell me how much talent I've got with Magicka and also confirm if I'm good enough to become a mage!"

"Guardian stones?" Kai asked, frowning in confusion; similarly, Ula blinked and frowned in perplexity. "What are Guardian Stones?"

"Three of the fifty ancient standing stones that dot Tamriel's landscape!" the tan-skinned beauty explained, flapping a dismissive hand. "Come, let's see which stone calls out to us the most! The stone of the warrior, the stone of the thief, or the stone of the mage! If we've got a certain talent, one of them will resound inside of us and start glowing."

"Uh... I don't believe any of us have an aptitude for thievery," Kai squawked, looking extremely dismayed as they drew closer to Svena, "but the warrior... I might like that."

He stopped walking when Ula stiffened in his arms like a wooden board; similarly, Svena froze mid-wave and stared at her in shock when she lifted a trembling hand and pointed at the stone in the center of the group; Svena's eyes went wide and she blinked in surprise before glancing over her shoulder. Her face immediately paled since they were actually still more than twenty feet away from the Guardian Stones.

Normally, they only affected someone with promise at a measly range of two feet.

That stone was the same one that Svena had wanted to touch.

"The mage stone," the dark-haired girl whispered, blinking in amazement before glancing at Ula in curiosity. "I wonder... I probably shouldn't feel curious about whether or not you have talent with magicka, especially since I myself taught you how to use a bit of it. Kai, bring her over here so she can touch it: based on what I've read, if Ula's got talent, the gods will grant her a blessing and the mage stone will glow."

"If you say so," the teenager snorted, shivering violently when he carried the mute girl over to the stone. "I wouldn't be surprised, though."

Looking at the two of them with hesitant eyes, the albino shakily stretched out her hand... but the moment her fingers made contact with the stone, an icy sensation swept throughout her body and her eyes exploded with so much blue light that two beams of luminescence seemed to be shooting out of her skull. The mark on her neck flared brightly and began to extend, weaving all across her upper torso and even across her face: it wound around her in glowing spirals and curvacious patterns, illuminating her pale skin from the inside out.

Then the hole that had been carved in the center of the stone began to glow with a hissing noise.

"Shor's blood," Kai whispered, staring at Ula's body when she somehow became lighter all of a sudden; his eyes widened when the girl's silver hair weightlessly billowed up towards the sky and slowly drifted around with the flow of power emanating from her body. However, when a set of ethereal wings unexpectedly exploded from her back, Svena leapt back and Kai almost dropped her to the ground by accident. "S-S-SHOR'S BLOOD! WHAT ARE _THOSE_?!"

"I-Illusion magicka?!" Svena stammered, staring at the translucent appendages when they flapped and went right through Kai's body, making the boy jump and stare at himself. "Akatosh, preserve us... I've never heard of magicka like this!"

Ula dizzily went limp.

"She... she's lighter... Svena, Ula is..." Kai squeaked, eyes widening in fright. "She no longer..."

"Just say it!" the girl exclaimed. "Tell me!"

Instead of answering, he carefully lowered his arms and stepped back; Ula's hand remained connected to the Mage Stone, but her body hovered as though she were submerged clean underwater. Her head lolled as she floated in the air, making Svena gasp; she was shocked her jaw was still connected to her head when she finally got a hold of her senses.

"S-S-S-S-Svena?!" Kai whispered. "H-how is she doing that?!"

"I don't know, Kai!" the young woman rapped out. "Make her let go of the stone! Hurry! It isn't wise to tamper with unknown Magicka!"

"I-I-I..." the boy stammered, pupils dilating as he stared at the hovering girl. "I-I-I... b-but...!"

"Oh, fine, you big milk drinker! I'll do it!" Svena scolded, hurrying forward and grabbing the albino in a firm hold; with large eyes, she gripped the hand holding the stone and pulled the pale girl away from it; almost immediately, the godly aura surrounding the albino's body vanished and the ghostly wings sticking out of her back completely faded away. Ula gasped in relief, glowing marks fading and eyes returning to their former pink with a ripple. "Ula... are you all right?!"

The girl's pointed ears twitched a bit when she blinked.

Then, after a moment of thinking about it, she hesitantly nodded.

"Well, that's a relief!" Kai squeaked, staring at her in shock. "You nearly scared the life right out of me!"

"You're a very powerful Magicka user, Ula…" Svena stated in a grim tone, eyes extremely grave. "You're going to need some serious training."

At her look of startled surprise, the woman shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Ula," the girl murmured, thinking back and finally letting out a sigh. "I only decided to teach you magicka because I thought you wouldn't be able to use it. In fact, according to Uncle Rain... you _shouldn't_ have been able to. I... kind of lied to you at first, and said it only comes with practice... but Magicka is only awakened in a human being once he or she opens a spell book. There are dormant powers inside those books that sleep until people with the capacity for Magicka open them. That power is then absorbed into the soul... it's something that becomes a part of you. It can't be taught. And yet... somehow, you learned Magicka from me."

The girl's pink eyes slowly slid closed for a moment, but then she sighed and frowned, not really understanding what it meant.

"You still don't get it?" Svena asked, glancing at Kai with a helpless expression. "Ula... you can barely heal yourself... and you created a fire so small that it was tinier than the candlelight in my kitchen. However, that doesn't mean you're the weaker mage... it means you're extremely powerful. The fact that you were able to conjure fire, no matter how small it was, without absorbing a particular type of Magicka spell... well, that's a feat nobody has ever accomplished until now. I think our best option would be to pay a visit to Winterhold and get enrolled in the mages' college. The best magicka users ever to walk Tamriel give shelter to people with promise in the hopes of advancing their studies."

"College?!" Kai squeaked, feeling as though he were getting a mental overload. "Divines... I can't imagine you girls becoming scholars!"

"That's because you're all brawn and no brain, Silly. Anyway, let's get going," Svena giggled, helping her friend stand up before she eyed the setting sun; Ula tiredly rested her head against the woman's large chest, feeling the effects of her exhaustion kicking in. Then the three of them started walking down the ever-prominent road again. "At any rate, I'm glad we found Ula, and I'm grateful I'm not going through this alone… if you two hadn't been here, I wouldn't have known what to do or where to go."

"You'd probably have figured something out," Kai commented, stepping over a shaky stone and swinging his stick. "After all, you're the smartest person I kn—"

[The boy's words were cut off when something huge slammed into his side, sending him rolling across the ground.](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/beyond-skyrim-cyrodiil)

Then another huge thing leapt at Svena, who let out a shriek.

Ula let out a gasp when she realized a wolf the size of a small horse had leapt on top of Kai and was savagely biting at the stick, which he was holding in front of his neck. Svena was swinging at another wolf that was attempting to circle around her, mouth trembling and eyes huge. Ula instantly looked around and bent down to pick up a large stick to help her when a third enormous wolf hurled itself it her.

The animal crashed into her with a snarl, slamming the tiny girl down on her back.

Instinctively, she held the stick in front of her and used it to keep the animal off of her throat.

Ula let out a silent squeal, amethyst eyes huge with fright as she stared into those snapping jaws.

Her arms shook with the strain of keeping the animal away from her.

"Hang on, Ula!" Svena cried, bashing the nose of the wolf that had latched onto Kai's arm with repeated movements. "Hang on! I'm coming! _We're_ coming! Don't let it hurt you until I get this beast off of Kai! Fight it! Fight it with everything you've got! ARGH! LET GO OF KAI, YOU NASTY BRUTE!"

With an angry shriek, she continued to bash the animal's nose; it yelped each time, but the beast didn't loosen its grip on the boy's arm.

"OOOOW!" Kai finally howled, shaking his head back and forth; he had been clenching his jaw to keep from screaming. "DIVINES! IT HURTS! GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

Ula's bare feet scrabbled at the ground as she pushed against the snarling wolf.

Her neck bulged with the strain of keeping the ferocious animal at bay. It took everything she had just to keep it from sinking its teeth into her throat. She squeezed her glittering eyes shut, shoulders shaking as she slowly began to force the slavering animal higher into the air; when it was far enough back, the girl let out an angry wheeze and sent her big toe clean into its manhood.

The animal yelped and leapt back with a snarling whine, allowing her just enough time to get to her feet.

Practically hyperventilating, the albino stood there with huge, streaming eyes and hefted her tree branch.

When another wolf charged at her, she swung the stick with all of her strength and hit it right in the face; eyes frantic with terror, she continued to swing blindly at any wolf that came near enough to touch, gasping and crying as she fought against them. Then, one of the wolves bit the stick and tried to drag it out of her hands; the mute nearly doubled over in her attempt to get it back, but then she pulled her body all the way back up, dug her heels into the ground, and struggled to make the creature let go using all of her strength.

However, when the wolf unexpectedly DID let go, she fell over with a startled expression.

Ula scrambled back to her feet and tried to run over to where Svena was currently bashing in the skull of the wolf that had bit Kai's arm, but before she managed to get there, one of the beasts snagged the edge of her dress and jerked her off her feet. She let out a frightened cry when it bit her hair, dragging her across the stony earth by her long tresses; Ula flailed violently and struggled to twist enough to jerk herself free, but before she could manage ir, the wolf she'd kicked off her body only a few minutes earlier leapt at her again.

She gasped and raised her arm to cover her face and neck.

Then there was a flash of silver as someone's sword unexpectedly slammed into the monster's side.

A spray of dark blood flew through the air and the stench of warm copper followed it as Ralof barreled forward, jerking his sword out of the falling animal; he whirled around like a dancer, flawlessly slicing the throat of a wolf that leapt at him from behind. After lopping the head off the beast biting Kai and prying it's jaws loose, the man tossed the decapitated skull off the trail.

Then he knelt down and examined the boy's arm.

"Not too bad," he muttered, eying him before narrowing his eyes; more wolves soon jumped out of the brush, making him grunt in annoyance; he glanced at where Ula was sitting and scowled, since the girl was staring at him with enormous eyes. "Get up, Elf! We've got to fight!"

"Who are you?!" Kai yelped, clutching his shoulder when Svena helped him up. "How do you know Ula?!"

"Ula?" Ralof asked, taking out another beast with disinterested eyes. "Is that her name?"

"Yes!" Svena exclaimed, yelping when a wolf hurled itself at her; she instantly bashed it on the nose and leapt away from it. "Agh! Why won't they go away?!"

Ula somehow managed to wrench herself into action when Kai grabbed his own branch.

The sheer terror and adrenaline flooding through her veins had literally propelled her body into motion like a springboard. Heart pounding and feeling sick to her stomach, the tiny girl gripped the nearest stick she could find and bolted over to Svena and Kai. When her slender shoulders were pressed against their backs, the girl hefted her stick.

"It'll be okay, Ula!" Kai hissed threateningly, lifting his stick sword. "I won't let these animals touch you again!"

"Just try not to hurt yourself any further until I can heal you!" Svena scolded, throwing him a quick glare. "Seriously, Kai!"

Ula locked her jaw even as tears slid down her cheeks.

More of the dark shapes flew forward, lunging towards the three of them with snarls and furious baying.

The girl whipped her stick around and clubbed the closest wolf with it, smacking it clean in the face; the animal yelped when the wood whacked it smartly across the snout, but it was probably more from surprise than actual pain since she was fairly weak in the arms. Kai whirled around like lightning and struck out at a wolf with his boot, crushing its skull; Svena smacked at any beast that came close, purposely keeping them away from her. Ula did the same and swung at another wolf when it lunged, but just as she did so, it managed to bite her stick.

The girl was stunned when she realized that the animals were overly intelligent.

They somehow knew that she and her friends would be helpless without their weapons.

When she saw another wolf getting ready to spring at her, she was completely helpless since Ralof was busy.

Wait... no… no... no, she wasn't!

She wasn't helpless! If she could only procure it like before, she could conjure fire!

The moment she thought of it, power erupted from her body like a maelstrom: with a flare of glittering light, the girl's eyes started glowing bright blue and the silhouettes of two enormous, ghostly wings rippled out of her back and into view. Lifting her arms high above her head, she merely thought of the word _fire_ and it exploded around her hands: her friends were simultaneously trying fend off the wolves and gape at her, so she lowered her burning hands and focused, attempting set their weapons on fire.

The ends of both sticks burst into flames without warning.

"AAAH!" Kai yelped, nearly dropping his stick in surprise. "What in the name of...?!"

"Wow!" Svena laughed in triumph, whirling the flaming wood around in a circle and grinning when the wolves backed off. "All right, Ula!"

Ula chanced a glance around and saw that Ralof had killed another three wolves that had foolishly attacked him; two more were circling warily, lingering just outside the reach of his sword. The blonde man merely stood still and peered at the silver-haired girl. Ula, however, began to sway back and forth when she started feeling extremely sleepy all of a sudden; before she even realized what was happening, she was falling down... down, down, down towards the distant ground.

She somehow ended up being cradled in Svena's strong arms.

When she opened her eyes and weakly lifted her head, however, the girl was staring at her with an unnerved expression.

 _Svena_? Ula wondered in confusion, dazedly reaching her leaden hand up to touch her jaw. _Why do you look so scared?_

"Svena?! Is she okay?" Kai called from somewhere far off. "She just collapsed out of nowhere!"

"She overused her power!" Svena called back, looking around at the circling wolves that were staring at her torch. "She can't even stand up on her own anymore!"

"Shite," Kai grumbled, slowly making his way to the side and setting a bush on fire. "Let's make it warmer so we get out of this situation alive!"

So saying, he moved to another and did the same thing there; then again at another.

Ralof saw what the boy was doing and slid back to join in, gripping a stick and lighting it on his before setting the brush on fire. The wolves stayed beyond the flames, eyes glowing in the light: with several of the pack already dead, they evidently decided to look for something easier to hunt since they all began to melt away into the fading light, one by one.

"Not bad," Ralof grunted, giving the drowsy girl and scowling teenagers an appraising glance. "So, is the Elf your friend?"

"Her name is _Ula_ ," Kai stated in a somewhat hostile tone. "Then again, who are you and how do you know her?"

"Me?" Ralof snorted, quirking an eyebrow. "That's a long story."

"We've got all the time in the world, so talk," Svena stated threateningly, hefting the incapacitated girl upright and keeping her on her feet. "How do you know Ula?"

For a moment, Ralof looked extremely pissed with their bad attitudes... but then his expression deflated and he sighed.

"The imperials were going to execute all of us," he muttered, ignoring how they twitched. "Then... a dragon attacked. The two of us helped each other escape from Helgen in the chaos, somehow. That is how we know each other: we only got out of there by working together."

Svena and Kai instantly froze before looking down at Ula, who weakly nodded a confirmation and covered her watering eyes.

"Shor's blood," Kai whispered in a small voice, knees giving out; he ungracefully landed on his butt. "A... a dragon, you say? As in, a sign that the end of the world is near?"

"I don't know what to think," Svena mumbled, looking at him with tired eyes, "but we can talk more later: we overdid it, and the fire's spreading."

It was indeed: several further bushes and one of the close trees were no on fire, and the heat was actually forcing them to retreat further and further away from the stones. More trees ignited in the spreading flames, and Ula realized with a dazed jolt that they had unintentionally created a wildfire.

"Let's go to Riverwood," Ralof barked urgently, gesturing towards a nearby forest path. "It'll be a good thing if we can get out of here before the fire spreads too much, but if we don't move now, we may get caught up in it! I'm glad I decided to come back... I'd likely have found you three slaughtered if I hadn't."

"We're not weaklings!" Kai protested, hefting Ula securely in his arms before he and Svena followed the Nord at top speed. "I can fight just as well as you!"

"And I am a mage!" Svena stated a little proudly, lifting her head high as if she were daring the blonde man to deny it. "The best in my whole village, in fact!"

Ula giggled silently, dazedly being lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of Kai's arms.

"We'd better keep moving," Ralof grunted, slowly sheathing his sword. "I don't want to run into any imperials who know what happened at Helgen."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, I have a few questions," Svena pointedly called, folding her arms. "Why were you going to be... executed?"

"Seriously, you don't know?" Ralof asked, looking shocked by her question. "Ulfric himself was captured by the imperials!"

"The Jarl?" Kai asked, frowning in confusion. "What's that got to do with anything? All we know about current affairs is that there's some sort of rebellion going on."

"Divines!" Ralof cursed, shaking his head and fighting to get over her immense surprise; after a moment, the man led them down the path. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about Ulfric. He's our leader: the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak, is the leader of the rebellion for Nord freedom."

"Wait... what do you mean?" Kai asked, looking stunned by the response. "So... the Jarl of Windhelm decided to go against the Empire?"

"Yes, but not for personal gain as they would have you believe," Ralof muttered distastefully. "I'm sure you've seen it yourself: the empire is taking away our freedom to believe in Talos, and with it... the rights to our own religion. Nords are being forced out of cities because the Thalmor and the Empire believe that Talos wasn't fit to be worshiped as the ninth divine… but to us, he deserves it the most because he was a man who became a god."

"No wonder... it all makes sense now," Svena muttered, shaking her head before she stepped over a fallen tree branch. "Personally, I think people should be free to do whatever they want, as long as it's not hurting others and as long as it doesn't interfere with their lives in any sort of direct manner. Religion is something that politics should never mingle with: it only causes unneeded strife."

"You're very right, and that's what all true Nords believe," Ralof muttered. "To each, his own."

"Is that why the rebels are being called Stormcloaks?" Kai asked, still shocked by the news; he was now trying to find a way to change the subject. "I've heard that term being thrown around a lot lately, but I had no idea it was associated with the Jarl. I didn't even make the connection with his name."

"Surely even youngsters such as yourselves have heard about the terrible war going on in Tamriel!" the blonde man exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up; when he saw nothing but blank faces, his bearded mouth dropped open. "Shor's Blood!"

"We lived in a small village hidden by mountains," Svena stated severely. "Are you really surprised that current events escaped our notice?"

"Not when you put it like that," Ralof muttered, rubbing his nose. "You see, we Nords are tired of spending our blood for the Empire's wars, and paying for the empire's decadence with our taxes, when we aren't even allowed to have our own freedom. Ulfric is our rightful High King: he's leading the fight to drive the Empire out of Skyrim once and for all! That's why our own were being executed back there! Your little Elf girl was wrongfully sentenced, as well: the Empire made it clear that they simply don't care about anyone but themselves today."

"She's not an Elf!" Svena angrily squeaked, shaking her head. "And anyway, how on earth did you manage to get caught? If he's the leader of the rebellion, and you're facing an entire country all alone, what good would getting yourselves captured do?"

"I was assigned to Ulfric's guard," the man explained, mouth pulling into a grim frown. "We were just about to leave a village called Darkwater Crossing in the south of Eastmarch, but the imperials were waiting for us at the edge of the town: it was as pretty of an ambush as I've ever seen. We were outnumbered five to one, at least, but when the Imperials started slaughtering the villagers, Ulfric ordered us to stop fighting… he didn't want everyone to die for nothing, I guess. "

"What?" Svena whispered, coming to a halt and clenching her fists in horror. "Darkwater Crossing?! B-b-but... no way!"

"Is something wrong?" Ralof demanded, narrowing his eyes without looking at them. "Speak."

" _We're_ from Darkwater Crossing," Kai stated in a cold tone, making the blonde man's head whip around; he eyed the three of them with furrowed brows. "Our village was completely destroyed during that attack: every building was burned to the ground by the Imperials, and only seven people were found still alive. Several others went missing... my friend, Svena... she lost her grandmother right in front of her."

"You..." the dark-haired girl hissed, eyes filling with enraged tears; leaping forward with a hiss, she started beating against the man's chest with both fists, letting out an angry shriek. "YOU BASTARD! IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR COMING TO OUR VILLAGE! MY GRAN! MY HOME! MY FRIENDS! EVERYTHING'S ALL GONE BECAUSE OF YOU AND THOSE REBELS! EVERYTHING!"

"I..." Ralof huffed, then shut his mouth, obviously taken aback since there was really nothing he could say to counter that.

In a way, she was absolutely correct.

"ULA WAS NEARLY KILLED BECAUSE OF YOU STORMCLOAKS!" the woman shrieked, jerking back and glaring at him. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Need I remind you who was planning on doing the killing?" Ralof countered, quirking an eyebrow when her face froze; however, her tears didn't stop, nor did her anger subside. "It was an unfortunate accident... but it is not our fault, it's the Empire's. They were the ones doing the killing, woman... not us. After they captured me and the elf, there, I thought they were taking us down to Cyrodil to parade us all in front of the Emperor."

"Why?" Kai asked, brow furrowing in confusion before he hefted Ula and started walking again. "That sounds pretty low."

"You're right, but that's simply how the empire works," Ralof sighed, shaking his head in disgust as they continued to descend down the mountain and slipped past a weathered sign; the man gave it a glance and looked at the ground with a nod when he saw the beginnings of cobblestone. "Then they stopped in Helgen, killed a few men, the dragon attacked, and the two of us escaped together... you know the rest."

"I'm sorry…" Svena muttered, rubbing her watering eyes with a shamed expression. "You're right... it's not your fault... but... my Gran... my home..."

"As long as the three of us have each other," Kai stated firmly, clapping her on the back, "we'll be home no matter where we are, okay? Stop crying, Svena. Smiles suit you way better than tears do."

"Or, you could get even by doing something about what they did to your home," Ralof thoughtfully explained. "Personally, I think you three should consider joining up with the rebellion. You've seen the true face of the Empire today, and there are many people out there being put through similar horrors."

"Eh?! I… I don't know," Svena whispered, rubbing her nose with a shiver. "I... I don't think any of us could ever voluntarily hurt anyone."

"It's not an easy decision, and I'm well aware that you'll need time to think it over," Ralof conceded, rubbing his shoulders as they walked, "but just in case you ever want to join up after we've parted ways, go to Windhelm and talk to Jarl Ulfric's Thane. Tell him that Ralof of Riverwood sent you and he will most likely let you have an audience. Not to mention...if anyone knows where that dragon came from, it's most likely him."

"You think he knows where the dragon came from?" Kai asked, glancing up in surprise.

"It's very possible that he does. Many believe him to be the Dragonborn," the Nord allowed, looking up at the sky. "We're almost to Riverwood,"

Ula incoherently cheered by raising a fist, not even able to think properly anymore.

Her world began to dissolve as she fell asleep, cradled in the arms of her best friend. It was hard for her to believe that only ten hours had past since she'd woken up in the tree: all of the events she'd experienced had stretched on for an eternity.

Her head lolled and she sighed, feeling safer in Kai's strong arms than anywhere she'd been that day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Gerdur's Request **

[ _Black... it was all black... nothingness._ ](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/summerset-isles-ambient)

_No color._

_No light._

_No sound._

_Nothing but an endless darkness that stretched on endlessly beyond her closed eyelids. She felt so weak that she couldn't even open them... she could feel herself floating weightlessly in the frigidness of this icy void, could feel the fierce winds lifting her hair off to the side... and yet, she couldn't move. She felt so weak that her body was incapable of doing anything. She wanted to open her eyes... she wanted to see where she was, why everything was so windy... why she felt so weightless._

_When she finally managed to lift her eyelids, she realized with a dazed sense of horror that there was nothing in front of her._

_Everything was black._

_An empty void of nothingness._

_Then... the darkness suddenly cracked like a pane of glass, making her blink rapidly._

_More cracks soon jolted down in front of her... almost seeming to form understandable words, even though they were nothing but jagged lines and odd fissures._

_Her heart thumped and her eyes slowly widened as an inexplicable horror built up inside her soul: she somehow recognized these symbols... but not only that, she understood what they meant. These weren't cracks... they were words of a language that she had been taught a long time ago... she had been taught by someone that she held close to her heart, even to this day... when everything about that person had practically disappeared from her mind. And yet, somehow, the sight of these words made her remember all of the teachings she'd inherited._

_These symbols burned themselves into her eyes... but then, more of them began fraying the endless blackness in resting all around her, cracking it into pieces. She tried to close her eyes again when the symbols continued to shatter the darkness... but then, out of all the blinding words in front of her, one started glowing red and she felt her heart skip a beat. Her name... it was her own name! The word that had been calling to her from the moment she'd been born! She had to speak it: of this, she was certain... she had to speak her name before it turned black! She had to keep it pure! Had to cleanse it with her voice!_

_She couldn't let Sora become tainted!_

_Ula started choking when her true name shifted from a hot bright red to a darker shade of crimson, almost seeming to sizzle with something vile._

_Then the name shifted... and her eyes widened when she saw the name 'Ula' taking shape._

_"No... no! I'm not Ula!" she managed to gasp, voice coming out strangled. "I am Sora! I am Sora! I am **SORA**!"_

_And just like that..._   _the darkness shattered and the world exploded with light._

_Ula suddenly saw a vision herself running with an outstretched hand on top of an endless lake: she seemed to be running nowhere even though she was going at top speed... and she was also reaching for something with desperation on her face. Then her doppelganger started stumbling and finally lost her balance, long hair being blasted forward by something... but she never lowered her hand. Just before she fell, she reached for something, hair flying around her face and eyes streaming tears._

_There was an unexpected flash of light, similar to a lightning strike, and it erased the vision from view._

_When she was able to see again, she witnessed Svena standing in the middle of a blue void and being blown around by a fierce wind... a wind that seemed to be coming from every direction and was pelting her mercilessly. Her curly hair was flying this way and that and her dress was being jerked as if the wind had unseen hands. Tears were streaming from her eyes and being blown off her face as she stood there, locked in place by the wind, cerulean eyes facing the sky and yearning for something that Ula couldn't see._

_Then another flash swept the vision away... and she saw Kai, standing soaking wet amongst several white flowers and looking straight at her._

_His amber eyes looked blank and cold with an unbearable amount of sadness. Her weakness increased when she saw his mouth moving and a tear slid down his copper cheek. Kai was the strongest person she knew... she never wanted to see his tears, ever. He was her pillar of stone... the one man she knew to be rock solid in every decision he made. However, that one tear sliding out of his empty eyes nearly broke her._

_Then he faded into white..._

"Wake up..."  _a voice whispered, making her heart still._  "Wake up, Ula..."

_She shook her head, not wanting to do any such thing... she was already awake!_

"Ula!"  _Svena whispered, shaking her shoulder._  "Come on! Wake up! I have to pee and I don't want to go alone! Please?"

Ula's eyes fluttered a little and she opened them a bit, finding herself staring at a dark blue sky.

"Ugh... she's still out of it," Svena mumbled sadly, sounding a little dismayed. "Well, I guess I'll have to go alone."

The sound of her best friend getting up and leaving didn't even fully click with her brain.

The poor girl felt dazed… almost as though she'd slept for a long time and had somehow been completely unaware of it: her tongue was dry and full of cotton, her throat was parched, her body felt weak, and her hair had somehow turned into an unmanageable haystack. However, when she slowly sat up and looked around, she was expecting to see the familiar surroundings of the bedroom she shared with Svena.

Not an outdoor woodland with dark trees scattered everywhere.

Ula immediately blinked as a feeling of terror smashed into her stomach.

Eyes going wide with incomprehension, she started breathing raggedly and frantically looked around before pulling the covers up to her chin. However, the moment she realized she was holding animal skins of some sort, her panic skyrocketed through the roof and she let out a terrified wheeze. Heart pounding, the girl scrabbled backwards until she was pressed against a tree, hugging herself and looking at the woods around her with terror-stricken eyes. However, when a burly blonde man unexpectedly stepped around the tree she was leaning against with a sword clutched in his hand, the girl hiccuped in fright and covered her face with both hands.

She quickly burst into tears, already beginning to hyperventilate.

"Calm down, Elf!" Ralof barked, dropping his weapon and falling to his knees in front of her; when he gripped her shoulders, the girl wheezed in terror and struggled to bolt away from him. She didn't even see Kai sitting up and staring at them with groggy eyes. "Oi! Stop struggling and calm yourself!"

Flailing in terror, the girl finally lifted her hands and began hitting him.

Almost immediately, a lightning bolt exploded from her palms.

With a deafening clap of thunder and a blinding flash, the Nord was blown clean into Svena, who had just been coming back through the trees: the olive-skinned girl let out a muffled shriek, but then they went sailing out of sight and landed somewhere unseen. The explosive power radiating from her body was what brought her to: Ula immediately stared at her shaking hands as the memories of the previous day swept through her. Her eyes instantly went blank and she weakly sank back against the tree, shivering violently and crying hysterically. Soon after, Ralof charged back over to the clearing, looking ready to do more than scold her... but when he saw the state she was in, he faltered greatly.

The small girl was now clutching her face with shaking hands and staring at the ground through her fingers with blank eyes.

Her eyes were streaming terrified tears, but somehow... it made him frown deeply.

"Shor's Blood! That really HURT!" Svena angrily shrieked, stomping into the clearing and rubbing her breasts with angry and stunned eyes. "What in the name of all Nine Divines did you just do, Ula?! If that man had hit me any harder, I would have been speared by his armor!"

"As far as I know, she just conjured lightning," Kai weakly whispered, wincing as he watched Svena straighten her clothes. "That must have really hurt..."

"It did," Ralof snapped, whirling with a glare that silenced the Nordic youth. "I'm lucky that I wasn't killed by that damned blast of Magicka!"

"Yeah, but at least you didn't have to get plowed by a man twice your size on top of it," Svena weakly retorted, kneeling down in front of Ula before putting a hesitant hand on her disheveled silver hair. "Look, Ula… yesterday was an extremely terrifying situation, but you're probably going to be enduring the shock you missed out on over the next few days. A calamity can do that to a person: it waits for calm. Trust me, I know."

Ula merely shook her head in protest, face contorting as she slowly buried her face in her knees and began to weep; an enormous ache had started gnawing at her heart when she'd remembered that her home was gone. She was missing everyone so much that it was forcing chest-heaving sobs out of her.

"Please don't cry," Svena murmured unhappily, pulling her into a hug. "We still have to get to Riverwood..."

"We stopped for the night since you passed out," Kai explained, cracking his neck with a yawn, "and also because everyone else was too tired to continue."

"Which reminds me," Ralof barked, stalking over to his pack and stuffing his supplies back in. "There's still a chance of being ambushed when we're out in the open, so let's get going. Plus, my sister is an early riser, and once we get to her home, we can all wash and change into something fresh. Calm the elf down."

"Don't rush her!" Svena snapped, shooting him a glare. "Ula isn't as strong as us! She's always had frail health, and yesterday was probably too much for her body!"

"Heal her, then," Ralof sneered, making the Red Guard's eyes narrow in irritation. "You're the best mage in your village, eh? I guess now's your chance to prove it."

Svena's soft lips pressed into a thin, tight line and her skin burned bright red for a moment.

"Fine," the curly-haired girl finally muttered, turning around and extending her hands out to Ula's body, "but only for her sake."

The silver-haired girl glanced up in surprise when Svena's healing magicka engulfed her, and she gasped in unexpected bliss as her injuries and scrapes started healing at an abnormally rapid pace. Her sore joints, her burns, even the majority of her fatigue... all of it slowly melted away, and continued melting even when Svena pulled her into an embrace and healed her more rapidly. Both of them shone bright gold for several moments, illuminating the small clearing with beautiful tendrils.

Then the light faded away and Ula was no longer in any pain.

After a moment, Svena pulled back and sighed, swaying slightly before she blinked and grinned at her.

"Impressive," Ralof muttered, staring at them with raised eyebrows. "I guess your boasts were fair enough. I've never seen such a powerful restoration magicka."

"I only did it for Ula's sake!" Svena snapped, although the albino girl could see the reluctant satisfaction tinging her expression. "I don't care what you think!"

"Let's just get going," Kai muttered hoarsely, rubbing his splinted arm with a wince as he stood up; he'd refused to let Svena heal it the previous night since he personally believed it was his fault for being careless. He figured the pain would teach him to be more aware of his surroundings. "It's starting to get light out."

Thus, the four of them packed up and started walking the rest of the distance towards Riverwood.

However, relief swept through everyone when the small village finally came into sight.

"Finally!" Kai gasped, shoulders sagging in delight. "I thought we'd never make it back!"

"Let's head to over to Gerdur's," Ralof muttered, heading through the gate and walking along the cobblestone street. "She'll be happy to see me alive, at the very least."

Ula glanced up at Svena and Kai, but the two of them merely shared a glance of their own and shrugged before following him; thus, the trio headed towards the entrance into Riverwood and walked into the dusty cobblestone streets. Ula hid her blood-stained face behind Svena when an old woman sitting on a porch stood up and started yelling at a blonde man who'd said something in a low voice.

"I'm telling you, I saw a dragon!" the woman snapped, shaking her fist at the young man, who had reddish blonde hair and unhappy brown eyes. "It was big as a mountain, and black as night! It flew right over the barrow two days ago! You have to believe me, Sven, it was a real live dragon! That thing is still out there!"

"Dragons now, is it?" the man demanded with an unenthusiastic demeanor. "Mother, please… yesterday you were ranting about a mage and her warrior companion following a caravan of children who had been kidnapped by the empire. If you keep on like this, everyone in town will think you're going crazy!"

"Sven!" the woman gasped indignantly. "That man and woman were really here! I even gave them a map since they came all the way from Darkwater Crossing!"

"I've got better things to do than listen to more of your fantasies," the man sighed, rolling his eyes and walking away with his shoulders tensed up. "I'm heading down to the Tavern to brush up on my music skills, now."

"You'll see the truth, someday!" the woman angrily called, shaking her fist. "It was a dragon, Sven! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"

"Isn't that kind of backwards? Wouldn't the believing come before the killing?" Kai whispered to Svena, who shrugged and shook her head in confusion; out of a firm desire to thank her for lending them her best map, Kai swept over to the old woman and tapped her arm just as she unhappily turned to head back to her bench. She immediately gasped and covered her mouth in shock when he held out the map with a weak smile. "Excuse me, Ma'am… thank you for letting us use this."

"Oh, my!" the woman gasped, taking the map with shaking hands before glancing at the bloodied girl leaning against Svena. "Oh, dear... you poor thing! What did those horrid people do to you and those other children?!"

"She can't speak because of her handicap, but from what I gathered, several terrible things were done to her and many others," Svena weakly explained, making the old woman's eyes widen in sympathetic horror. "However, what I want to ask you now is this: did you really see a dragon?"

"Yes," the woman muttered, holding her back as she hobbled over to her chair and sat down, weakly straightening her bonnet, "nobody believes, but I'm telling you, I saw a dragon yesterday! It was the most frightening thing I've ever seen! It was so large!"

"Where did it fly off to?" Kai asked, frowning worriedly before glancing at Ralof, who was irritably urging them to hurry up. "Did you catch the direction?"

"It flew east, towards the barrow!" the woman murmured, wincing a bit. "Ow... okay, dears, old Hilde has to rest now... but if you ever need anything, just come back! And if you see that dragon, run for the hills!"

"Okay, Ma'am," Svena chirped, giving her a grateful bow and folding her shaking hands. "Thank you for everything you've done! If it hadn't been for you, saving my sister wouldn't have been possible... so, thank you! Someday, I will definitely return the kindness you've shown me, I swear it!"

"No worries, child," the woman chuckled, closing her pale blue eyes. "Oh, and one more thing? After you left, the Riverwood trader was robbed… so if you need supplies, you might not find them here. Poor Lucan was torn to pieces over it... the man is such a hard worker, too."

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Ralof barked, making everyone jump in surprise. "Gerdur's house is this way, so come on!"

"Sorry, we've got to go now," Kai muttered, giving Hilde a wave and heading off with Ula at his side. "Thank you for everything."

The pale girl glanced over her shoulder and blinked when she realized the woman was staring straight at her ears with a startled expression. However, her elderly eyes softened when Svena's arm protectively tightened on her shoulder, drawing the silver-haired girl's pink eyes up to her face. Ralof led them down the road with Svena, Ula, and Kai clustered close behind him; the albino merely observed her surroundings as she followed the three of them. The houses and buildings seemed to be made of sturdy wood from the forest, but the roofs were completely thatched.

"Ralof!" a man with an extremely thick accent suddenly cried, startling Ula so badly that she jumped into the air. "What are you doing here?!"

"Long story, Hodd!" the blonde Nord called back. "A very long story, indeed!"

"Wait, wait!" the man shouted. "Just stay there, I'll be right down!"

"Meet me at the pine island!" the rugged Stormcloak called. "We need to talk!"

Kai chose that moment to adjust his make-shift sling, but when a blonde boy shredded past him with a whoop of delight, he practically fell over Ula and Svena.

All three of them watched with wide eyes as he sprinted over to Ralof and glomped his leg with a laugh.

"Uncle Ralof!" the child cried, looking up at the burly man with shining blue eyes. "Can I see your axe?! How many Imperials have you killed?! Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?! Who's your pretty friend?! Can I play with the white-haired elf?!"

"Pretty? Do you mean me?" Svena shakily asked, looking more a bit flustered when she pointed to herself and the boy nodded. "Er... thank you, but we're only acquaintances, little one."

Right around that moment, a rather pretty young woman with a freckled face walked around a nearby tree and looked at them with light blue eyes.

"Hush, Frodnar," the blonde woman murmured in a beautiful Nordic accent. "This is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road for me: I want you come find us again if you happen to see any imperial soldiers coming."

"Aw, Mama," the blonde boy pouted, frowning at the woman. "I want to stay and talk to Uncle Ralof!"

"Look at you!" Ralof murmured, squatting down and measuring the boy's height with a glint of fatherly pride in his normally frigid blue eyes. "You're almost a grown man! It won't be long before you'll be joining the fight, yourself!"

"That's right, Uncle Ralof!" the boy bravely exclaimed, puffing his little chest out. "Don't worry, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you! They'll never make it here in time if _I'm_ on patrol!"

"Would you really do that for us?" Svena asked, glancing at him with a small smile. "Really?"

"Yes! Don't you worry!" Frodnar laughed, eyes shining at the praise. "I'll make sure you're all safe!"

With that, he ran right past them a second time, making both Kai and Svena giggle in amusement. Ula's eyes lowered when she once again realized that they looked perfect for each other: Svena was extremely beautiful, and Kai was an exceptionally handsome young man. The two of them would be a perfect match for each other... truthfully, she had always thought so deep down, but she hadn't really ever understood her mixed feelings about them becoming a couple.

Ula watched with hesitant eyes as they made their way over to the woman and two men standing in the shelter of the pine tree.

[Then she followed, purposely hiding behind Svena and staring at the ground with an uneasy expression.](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/beyond-skyrim-high-rock-14)

"Now, what's going on?" Hodd asked, glancing at Kai before observing the way Ula was clinging to Svena; then he looked at his in-law. "You four look pretty done in."

"That's one way to put it," Ralof muttered, shaking his head before rubbing his face. "Whew… where to start? Well, the news you've probably heard about Ulfric getting caught was true: the Imperials ambushed us in Darkwater Village, almost like they knew exactly where we'd be. That was… two days ago, now. When we stopped in Helgen, I thought it was all over for us... they had us lined up to the headsman's block, hands tied and ready to start chopping."

"Oh, Gods!" Svena whispered in horror, looking down at the albino when she flinched and shuddered violently. "Is that how Ula's wrists got injured?!"

"Yes," Ralof added, shaking his head before grabbing Ula and pulling her away from Svena; when the girl shook her head and tried to pull back, he lifted her off her feet and set her down in front of Gerdur. "This Elf child was a resident of Darkwater Village. She's not even a woman, and she has a handicap that prevents speaking. Despite that, they were going to execute her right along with the rest of us because the captain of the guard didn't like elves. A mere child was put under the executioner's blade! And they say _we're_  ruthless when it comes to the other races!"

"The cowards," Gerdur hissed, glancing down at Ula in shock; then she looked at Svena and Kai. "Who are they, though, and how did you meet them? Were they lined up to be executed, as well?"

"No," Ralof sighed, guiltily rubbing his eyes and making Ula glance at him with a solemn expression. "I hate to admit it, but even while she was helping me, I was still holding fast to the grudge that we Nords have against the Elven Folk. And after we got out of Helgen, I... I left the little girl behind, all alone in the mountains, and went off on my own."

Gerdur's eyes widened in shock and her mouth tightened; similarly, Svena and Kai's eyes darkened to the point of catching fire.

"Shame on you!" the blonde woman snapped, moving forward and smacking him upside the head. "The past is the past, Ralof! The atrocities from the war have been done and over with for years now! It's time to forgive and forget! I cannot believe that you abandoned such a young girl in the mountains, and after she _helped_  you! Are you not a man?!" 

"I know, I was wrong," Ralof grunted, rubbing his stinging head, "and as I was walking, my conscience began to haunt me, so I trailed back. I was lucky I did: during my absence, the three of them had reunited, but they were all being attacked by wolves once I found them. In truth, those two seem to be relatively close to the Elf child... they're all from the same village, according to what I've been told."

"I'm her elder sister," Svena stated softly, stepping forward and pulling Ula back with gentle hands. "We're siblings in every sense of the word... aside from blood."

"And I'm their closest friend," Kai added, lifting his arm and waving a bit. "The three of us are a family of sorts... we've always been together."

"How did you end up getting yourself mixed in such a mess?" Gerdur bluntly asked, furrowing her brows as she looked at Ralof. "Tell me!"

"They caught us and wouldn't dare give Ulfric a trial," Ralof grumbled, thick neck tensing in fury. "Treason, for fighting for your own people! All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then, and I was prepared to let it happen! But then… out of nowhere… a dragon attacked…"

"You don't mean a real, live…" Gerdur hesitantly asked, face going slack in shock. "I don't believe it."

"I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there," Ralof hesitantly countered, looking at Ula when she shuddered violently. "As strange as it's going to sound, we'd be dead if it hadn't been for that dragon. In the confusion, the elf and I managed to slip away, then used each other's help to escape from the village... are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

"Nobody else has come up the south road in the last five days," Gerdur replied, then added carefully, "as far as I know."

"Good," Ralof stated in a hoarse voice, rubbing his eyes in a tired manner. "Maybe the three of us can lay up for a while. I'd hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur, but…"

"Nonsense," the woman stated soothingly, putting her hands under his arms and pulling him into a hug; then she turned and walked over to Svena with a friendly expression on her face; she quickly pulled something out of her pocket and held it out with a grim expression. "Here's the key to the house: you, your sister, and your friend are welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Let me worry about the imperials: any friend of Ralof's is a friend of mine... especially since it seems he owes you his life."

"May the Earth you walk on quake in your passage," Svena murmured respectfully, bowing her head in a traditional manner, "and may your blade be true."

"Divines smile on you," Gerdur murmured, shaking her head before a thought struck her. "There is something you could do for me, though… I need to get a letter to the Jarl of Whiterun: he has to know that there's a dragon on the loose since Riverwood is defenseless against any kind of aerial attack. I need to get word so he'll send more guards down here. If you three would do that for me after resting for a few days, I'd be very much in your debt."

"Of course!" Kai exclaimed, eyes widening in shock. "We'll do it!"

"Kai!" Svena gasped, smacking his shoulder in dismay. "How on earth could you decide something like that so recklessly?! Hasn't Ula been through enough?!"

"Yes, but if a dragon attacks Riverwood, it'll end up like Helgen," the boy immediately retorted, giving her a glare that silenced her outrage. "Do you not remember what her eyes looked like when we found her? We're taking this job, regardless of what you say, because she doesn't need to be put through anything more."

Ula's face fell and she weakly rubbed one of her blood-stained arms before glancing down at her soiled dress.

She instantly winced in disgust: it hadn't really been a pretty one to begin with, but now it looked simply horrible... she wanted to strip it off.

"Well, just take your time and think about it for a while: traveling to the Capital isn't an easy thing to do in such dangerous times," Gerdur sighed, then glanced at Ula's clothes with something close to disgust. "You, my dear, are the one who's most in need of a bath as far as I can tell. I'll go draw the water... feel free to wait out here until it's ready. I think I have an old dress lying around somewhere, too... that outfit of yours is irreparable."

"May I use the floor to sleep?" Kai weakly asked, swaying back and forth from exhaustion; his face was flushed and he looked exhausted. "I don't feel very well..."

"Of course," Gerdur allowed, nodding a few times before heading inside with her husband, Hodd, close behind. "I'll be back when the bath is ready."

"Are you all right?" Svena asked, glancing at Kai when he touched his arm with a wince. "Let me see your arm."

"No, I'm fine," he retorted, trying to act tough before he dizzily stumbled and started to fall over. "Perfectly... fine..."

Ula's ears shot straight out in alarm and she bolted over to his side, throwing her arms out and wrapping them beneath his own in an attempt to halt his fall. However, her eyes widened when his weight proved to be too much, and within only a few seconds, he collapsed on top of her. Ula flailed her legs in mortification when Ralof merely folded his arms chuckled at her spirited attempt to get free... but that's when Svena rushed over and gently removed his arm from the sling.

She gasped after unwrapping his injuries: they had become severely infected.

"Ugh! You are so NOT fine!" Svena groaned, angrily smacking the sickly young man on the back of his head. "Are you mad?! You should have told me it was festering, you mental ox! Even if you didn't want healing, the least you could have done was let me cleanse the infection! Now it's gonna take even more energy to do so!"

"Sorry, Svena," Kai grumbled, wincing when the girl lifted her hands and used her Magicka to clean the infection from his body. "Oh, Gods... that feels wonderful..."

"Want me to heal it all the way, then?" the Red Guard inquired, quirking an eyebrow at him. "I'll do it if you ask, you know."

"Fine," Kai muttered, closing his eyes in defeat; within seconds, his flesh had been healed and the wolf's bite was gone. "Thank you... I feel much better."

"Good!" Svena snapped, grabbing his ear and practically dragging him off of Ula, who had turned bright red and was shaking violently. "Now, stay off of Ula! I'm going to go inside to see if Sir Ralof's sister needs any help."

And with that, Svena whisked inside the house with her curls bobbing around her ears.

"A handsome woman, that," Ralof noted, watching her backside as she departed. "Hard to believe she's not even fully grown."

"How do you know she isn't?" Kai bluntly retorted, shooting him a particularly protective glare. "For your information, I am ten and eight years... and Svena is one year older than I am. By the laws of Tamriel, she  _is_  fully grown, and very capable of surviving as I'm sure you've noticed."

"How old is the Elf?" Ralof asked, jerking his thumb at Ula, who was now standing at the edge of the river and looking at a few birds who'd settled in a tree. Her pink eyes had softened in the light, the only thing on her that didn't look filthy by this point. "She seems fairly young... just a child, really."

"Ten and five years," the copper-skinned Nord explained, slanted amber eyes flashing. "She's younger than us, but no less intelligent... and every time you call her 'Elf', I'm sure it probably hurts her a little. So, if you'd so kindly oblige, I'd appreciate it if you addressed her by her name from now on."

"Why should I?" Ralof bluntly demanded, making Kai narrow his eyes. "She's an elf, isn't she?"

"We don't know what she is," the boy honestly explained, eliciting a confused frown from the blonde man. "Everyone thinks she might be an elf hybrid, but personally, I'm not so sure. She's of a different sort... but either way, Ula is a very loving girl and she deserves better treatment from those around her. I know there's a deep-set anger between many of the races of Tamriel, but she's not a part of that. Unlike the rest of us, I truly believe that Ula has no evil inside her."

"The bath is ready," Gerdur suddenly called, sticking her head out of her front door; Ula instantly looked at her with delighted eyes and ran right past Ralof, who eyed her silver haystack with something close to distaste. "Come, child... let's get you cleaned up."

When she was led around the side of the house and taken to a huge outdoor tub sheltered behind a small copse of trees, Gerdur helped her peel the filthy dress off and they tossed it onto a burn pit.

Svena was sitting on a nearby stool, watching over them.

When Ula slid into the wooden tub, her eyes instantly rolled and she shivered in delight: the last time she'd had a bath felt like months ago.

"Let me wash your back," Svena suddenly sighed, getting to her feet and grabbing the scrub brush; without a word, the dark-haired woman knelt down in front of the tub and Ula pulled her long hair over her shoulder. The feeling of hard bristles made her wince, but she eventually relaxed and allowed the Red Guard to help her: after all, it would end up being better for her in the long run. Svena did this in complete silence for several minutes, not speaking a single word.

Then, after nearly ten minutes of this oddly comfortable silence, Gerdur came back outside.

"Young one," the blonde woman called, smiling at the two girls with friendly blue eyes. "I brought your little sister a dress that belonged to me when I was but a girl; I'll just leave it over here on the side table. This dress is very, very old, though, so the style is extremely simple... I don't know if she will like it, but—"

Ula instantly turned around and waved her hands, eyes shining with protest.

Gerdur stared at her in blank confusion, not getting the message.

Noticing this, Svena sighed and rolled her eyes.

"She's trying to say that it'll be fine... and I agree: this is so far beyond normal kindness that you shouldn't even talk like that," the healer explained, smiling when Ula lowered her head and looked at her with grateful eyes. "Also, about earlier... I... I'm sorry for protesting the offer to go talk to the Jarl. It's just... Ula... she's already been through so much..."

"You must be having a difficult time," the woman stated seriously, looking at her with worried blue eyes. "I don't blame you... I don't even think you've told me what your names are."

"Oh, my name is Svenayna, but you can call me Svena," the dark-haired girl graciously explained, then gestured to Ula. "My little sister's name is Ula, and the Nordic boy you met earlier is our closest friend, Kaikeeryn. We call him Kai since it's easier on the tongue."

"Huh... you Red Guards sure have some very strange names," the woman murmured, shaking her head with a baffled expression. "My name is Gerdur the Gentle, Daughter of Helgoryn the Strong... but all of my friends call me Gerdie. Anyway, when you're done, feel free to change into the clothes I set on the table. Dinner is ready when you are."

When the woman left with a motherly nod, Ula blinked a few times and turned around.

"She's a kind soul," Svena whispered, watching as Ula drew her knees up to her chin; the warmth of the water soothed the smaller girl. "I'm grateful."

Regardless, by the time Svena was done scrubbing her off, Ula was cleaner than she'd been in a while.

Her silver hair practically gleamed like snow and her skin was so bright that it was almost blinding.

"If you want, I'll do your hair to keep it out of your eyes," Svena offered, eying the girl's thigh-length tresses. "Do you want me to?"

Ula hesitantly nodded before slowly making her way over to the stool and sitting down in nothing but her underclothes.

"Well, then just sit still and do as I say," the older girl murmured kindly, pulling an old-fashioned bristle brush out of her pocket along with a comb made out of some type of animal bone; Ula winced when the teeth of the brush snagged on her hair, but she dealt with the pain in silence. After all, she was used to it: Svena was always messing with her hair since it was so long... and plus, she rather liked the sensations that came with it, most of the time.

"I'm glad we've recovered at least this semblance of normalcy," Svena murmured, nodding in approval. "Now that your hair is neat, let's get started, okay? Then we'll get you dressed."

Thus began a long ordeal to recover Ula's every-day look.

The feeling of her sister's hands running through her hair was soothing.

It helped her to relax.

However, when they were done, Ula donned the simple white dress that Gerdur had given her and the two young women headed around the house with their hands interlaced. Silently, the sisters made their way over to where Gerdur, Kai, and Ralof were waiting with folded arms. The moment everyone glanced up, they encountered different reactions to her appearance: Ralof's eyes widened a little before he caught himself and abruptly turned away. 

When Ula tilted her head to the side and blinked at him in curiosity, the Nord shifted his legs a bit and a bright red flush swept across his face. 

Kai merely cocked an eyebrow and smiled in relief, since Ula looked fairly beautiful now that she was clean. Her snowy bangs had been braided and pulled behind her head, where they'd been tied in place with a large white ribbon. Compared to the filthy, bloodstained girl who'd arrived in such a terrible state... she looked almost angelic.

Gerdur eyed her up and down before nodding, folding her arms.

"The dress looks good on you," the woman sighed, shaking her head. "I didn't notice it earlier because of how filthy you were, but for an elf... you actually have a very rare kind of beauty. I'm surprised."

Ula blinked in confusion and looked down at herself before trotting over to the river and looking at her own reflection.

She blinked a few more times and felt even more perplexed since she thought she looked the same as always.

The girl personally felt that there were plenty of women out there who were much prettier than she was.

Svena and even Gerdur, for example.

Still, the compliment made her feel nice nonetheless.

"Where does Jarl Baalgruff live?" Svena hesitantly asked, slowly moving forward. "How do we get to Whiterun?"

"Don't worry: we'll borrow Hilde's map again," Kai instantly whispered into her ear, catching Ula's attention. "Don't worry too much: I may not know my way around Tamriel, but I  _do_ know how to strike up a damn good bargain."

So saying, he stepped up to Gerdur and politely asked if there were any provisions to be bought; the blonde woman nodded and responded by leading him towards her house. Ula and Svena waited in the waning afternoon as Ralof limped after them with an exhausted demeanor. After about ten minutes of waiting, Kai came back with an enormous hiking pack slung across his broad shoulders and two smaller packs dangling from his hand.

"We'll be taking these with us once we actually start traveling," Kai stated simply, setting the packs down with a sigh. "Gerdur is going to set out some bedrolls on the floor of her house, but in exchange, I'm going to help her with the lumber mill until we're ready to get out of here. I'm fairly strong, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to _worry_ about?" Svena hissed, glancing at Ula before scooting towards him and leaning close; the albino had been distracted by a butterfly with wings the color of a rainbow, and she'd followed it with curious eyes, expression completely lit up with wonder. "There's _plenty_ to worry about! Whiterun is extremely far away from here, Kai!"

"Only a day's journey," Kai chuckled, unwrapping a loaf of bread with a grin. "We can make it, trust me!"

The woman only grumbled and sat down on a rock before eating her own lunch.

When the two of them were full and satisfied, Svena watched Ula with somber eyes: the girl was now sitting in a bed of grass and staring at the flowers that were slowly growing more colorful around her. Her eyes were still soft and innocent... Svena was relieved to see that she hadn't changed after her ordeals. The woman's eyes softened without her even realizing it, and she unthinkingly took Kai's hand and squeezed his palm a little.

"As long as Ula is still happy," Svena sighed, glancing at Kai with a solemn expression, "I could travel to the ends of the world."

With that, she closed her eyes and sighed in contentment, leaning on the boy's shoulder.

However, the two of them didn't notice that Ula was crying... didn't see the way she was cradling the flowers blooming beside her.

Yes... Ula was holding them tenderly, almost as though she were praying that their brilliant colors would shield her mind from everything she'd seen the previous day.

Unfortunately, nothing could erase those horrors aside from time... and sadly, she didn't even realize that the little time she had left to be a child was running out.

Nobody did.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Mystery of the Golden Claw **

After learning how to operate a wood mill, Kai worked harder than he ever had before over the next few days: impatience was driving him on, and he seemed extremely frustrated about something only he was aware of. During this time, Svena spent her time talking to Gerdur and helping the woman with her needlework: after the first day, the awkwardness of their unfortunate arrival had passed and the two women had quickly discovered that they had a lot in common as far as their personal tastes went.

After two days had gone by, they'd actually come to enjoy each other's company enough to gossip.

Which Kai hardly understood, since it wasn't exactly an identifiable turning point in their relationship, but since it was apparently a big deal he wrote it off as women stuff.

Ralof, on the other hand, did absolutely nothing but sleep... and his appetite was non-existent.

"I'm worried about him," Gerdur finally admitted to Svena on the third evening, watching her brother sleep on his bed. "He's never acted like this before... normally, Ralof tries to stay up until his body can't take anymore and shuts down on its own. This isn't normal... could he be ill?"

"I don't think he's ill," Svena stated softly, giving the blonde woman a somewhat pensive expression. "At least... not physically."

"What do you mean?" Gerdur inquired, worriedly rubbing her nose. "How can someone be ill and not have it affect the body?"

"It makes quite a bit of sense, if you consider the circumstances," Svena weakly countered, closing her eyes with a sigh as Ula's own distant behavior flashed into her mind. "Your brother might be acting this way because of what he endured after he and Ula were taken to Helgen... he is not ill, but I do believe that his heart might very well be shaken up."

Gerdur's face fell and she lowered her husky blue eyes, mouth pulling into a frown.

"What of your... friend?" the woman carefully asked, having discovered the hard way a few days back that Ula's unidentifiable race was a touchy subject. "How has she been faring? I haven't seen head or tail of her  _or_  my son these last few days... Frodnar is always chasing her, and he only comes home when it's time to eat or sleep."

"Ula's been acting very distant lately," Svena muttered, sitting down at the woman's table with a sigh. "In her own way, I think what she's doing is similar to what Ralof is doing: she keeps going up to the river and climbs the tallest trees. She's always felt safest near the woods, and even more so in high places, so I think that's why she's avoiding everyone. And I think it's possible that your son simply wants a new friend to play with... most boys his age generally do. That's probably why he follows her around."

"I still can't believe that they witnessed a dragon attack," Gerdur stated in a low voice, shivering and rubbing her arms. "Do you think... that it could be true?"

"Yes," Svena stated honestly, eyes becoming far away. "In fact, I don't have a single doubt since Ula agreed with everything Ralof told us."

"How could you not have doubts?!" the Nordic woman gasped, looking at her in surprise. "Just because that girl nods, you'd believe it to be the truth?!"

"Yes," Svena confirmed, giving her a friendly smile, "and there's a reason for it, too: during all the years Kai and I have known her, that girl has never told a falsehood in any shape or form. She is... almost fearfully honest, or maybe she's simply extremely naive. Either way, when she confirms something, it's best to take heed."

"That's troubling," Gerdie muttered, accent becoming extremely thick with worry. "I will be grateful to you three when you take news of the dragon to the Jarl."

With that, she headed downstairs and Svena got up to start making supper.

The nights in Riverwood were cool, but by the fourth day.... it was so hot that Kai found it hard to work and even Ula couldn't find the energy to climb the trees near the river.

Instead, while everyone was off doing their own thing, she sat beside old lady Hilde.

And it was there that the woman began telling her stories that awed her.

Starting from then on, Ula would sit beside the old woman and listen to the stories she wove with her soothing voice.

On some days, Hilde would tell her amazing stories about an island with a burning mountain in the center that lay far across the ocean, a place called Morrowind. On other days, Hilde's son, Sven, would come and practice his pipe instrument for them: he would eagerly sing some songs and ask for his mother's approval, but more often than not, his music would put the old woman to sleep. During those moments, he turned to Ula and asked her with his eyes if his songs were all right, to which she always nodded. 

She had always been attentive to the notes weaving out of the instrument.

The girl found them to be beautiful... all of the vibrations and harmonies were magnificent to her ears.

She didn't understand why nobody seemed to like his songs: to her, they sounded like Magicka. 

Nearly nine days after her arrival to Riverwood, the girl decided to visit the Sleeping Giant Inn... and sadly, that's how she saw Sven's true colors.

"Faendal, I've told you before," Sven growled, making the smaller man shiver a little. "Keep your nasty inhuman hands away from Camilla! She's  _my_ woman!"

Sven seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument with a shorter man wearing a cowl-like hat: the Nord's face was extremely red, and the smaller man seemed to be huddling inward on himself.

"I can't do that!" Faendal immediately stated in a calm tone, speaking with no accent or inflections to his voice. "I'm in love with her. I cannot back down."

"You think you have a chance with a woman like her?!" Sven snapped, then glanced around the room in amusement, as though he were looking to see if people were nodding in agreement. Ula, who was standing in the doorway with large eyes and ears that were sticking straight out, felt rather stunned. "Camilla Valerius is a pure-blooded Nord, Faendal: you are nothing but a pathetic Bosmer hybrid who has no wealth, nothing to give, and a lousy income. Someone like you isn't worthy of her: in fact, I doubt even another wood elf would court you!"

"I know I am worthless..." Faendal whispered, sounding thoroughly unhappy, "but despite that, she looks beyond my heritage and sees me for who I am, as an individual... and I simply cannot give that up. I don't want to back down, because Camilla is the first and only human to ever see me as something more than... ugly."

And with that, he turned around and walked towards the other end of the Inn with sagging shoulders.

Sven folded his arms with a huff of air before sitting back down and pulling his mandolin out: not glancing up, he began tuning it with furrowed brows.

Ula merely stood in place and clutched her dress, heart clenching up in sympathy for the so-called wood elf. Her feelings really did go out to him... even someone as kind as Sven had such a strong dislike for elves that he wasn't able to see past it. She'd never seen this side of the aspiring Bard... but deep down, he was just like everyone else: the Nord hadn't openly shown any dislike for Ula over the last few days, but somehow... she'd known his feelings about her were most likely on the same level as his feelings for Faendal.

She had seen it in the way he'd looked at her now and then... the slightly condescending look of one who believed himself to be superior.

She knew it wasn't any of her business... she knew she shouldn't have tried getting involved... but she did it anyway, and her feet started moving before she could stop them. Long hair swirling behind her and reflecting the firelight like a mirror, Ula slowly made her way over to where Faendal had unhappily sat down in the corner.

Then, she scooted in beside him and tapped his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

However, her eyes widened when he looked at her: it was her first time seeing a wood elf of any sort up close... and almost immediately, she understood why everyone disliked them so much. Faendal had a very thin and extremely angular bone structure: on top of that, his skin was an odd shade of brown, his eyes were huge and slanted in an extreme angle, and his irises were such a dark shade of maroon that they looked almost black. Then again... she couldn't really say such features were ugly: quite the contrary, she found them to be utterly fascinating since they were so  _different._

The pale girl stared at his thin lips and sharp jaw for a moment, then glanced at his extremely long ears before her gaze flicked to his small nose.

"Can I help you, stranger?" Faendal inquired somewhat hesitantly, blinking slowly and curiously. "Is there something you need of me?"

Ula merely shook her head and tapped her throat with a somber expression before mimicking talking.

He stared at her a little more intently, cocking his head slightly: his eyes were no longer blinking.

Since he looked confused, she repeated the signal and attempted to explain that she couldn't speak, but he didn't seem to be capable of comprehending it.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Faendal stated in a calm voice, finally blinking twice before turning back to the table. "Why are you sitting here?"

Ula huffed in frustration before struggling to use her voice: she struggled so hard that it felt as though her throat might collapse from the pressure of her muscles.

"Ca...n't..." the girl forcefully wheezed out, making him glance at her in curiosity; as she strained, the mark on her throat once again appeared and began glowing. "C...an't... t...alk..."

"You just did so," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow when she started breathing hard and swallowed. "Ah, well... what do you need of me?"

The girl merely nodded at Sven before patting his shoulder with a comforting smile: he instantly winced, finally seeming to understand the reason behind her actions.

"Ah..." he sighed, shaking his head with a solemn expression. "So, you saw that, then?"

Ula nodded with a slight wince before giving him an apologetic expression.

"Well, it's not like he's wrong in any way," Faendal murmured, lifting his head and staring at the ceiling in remorse. "I'm not worthy of her affection. Someone as beautiful as Camilla Valerius... there's no way the divines would be so kind. She's beautiful both inside and out... and me? I'm just a lowly elf, and a poor one, at that... but despite all of that, I can't stop my heart from yearning for her... I... I love that woman."

For a moment, he seemed to space out... but then he blinked and glanced at her snowy features and sharp ears with a somewhat interested expression.

"I'm sure you can understand my hardships, right?" he asked, sounding more than a bit depressed. "You're a hybrid like I am... aren't you? If you are, you're very lucky, you know: it would seem that the human gene came out stronger in your makeup, so you look relatively pretty compared to someone like me."

Ula blinked and her cheeks turned bright red for a moment; she instantly averted her eyes, staring at the ground with a startled expression.

She had never been called pretty before... at least, not by someone of the opposite gender.

Svena had said it all the time when she'd been younger, and lots of other women had always told her that she was growing up into a beautiful lady, but hearing it from a grown male... it gave her a different feeling entirely. After a moment, her cheeks had cooled off enough for her to feel more comfortable, so she slowly turned to meet his gaze once again; they merely stared at each other for a long moment, not really speaking and not really knowing why the other was staring.

"You know, Sven doesn't understand Camilla the way I do," Faendal finally admitted, giving a nearby blonde woman a wave when she walked out of a storeroom and started drilling her husband about the Ale going bad. "I was with her all day yesterday out in the fields... she was unhappy because her brother, Lucan, found out where their stolen goods were: she wanted to go get them, but he's refusing to let her... and they've been fighting ever since. I simply want to make her happy again... and if I could go get the heirloom that they lost, I'm sure she'd understand my feelings for her, too."

Ula's ears perked up as a question suddenly struck her: if that was really how he felt, why hadn't he done it yet?

[Most obvious reason: he needed help.](https://soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/si-interior-03)

Eyes sparkling as a plan began taking shape, the teenage girl grabbed Faendal's sleeve and gently tugged on it.

When he looked at her, he blinked when he saw her hopeful smile: then she tugged on his sleeve again and stood up, waving for him to follow and bouncing up and down.

"You want me to follow you?" he asked, sounding mildly perplexed and somewhat reluctant. "I don't know. Who are you, anyway? A traveler?"

The girl nodded fervently and waved him, smiling with a pleading expression: she looked so earnest that his wary expression softened into a calm one. Without a word, he stood up and followed her with a curious expression, watching as she practically flew towards the Inn doors. Sven and the blonde woman glanced up and watched both of them when the albino happily threw the door open and tore outside.

"Where are you going, Elf?" Sven sneered, making Faendal pause and glance over his shoulder. "You'd better stay away from Camilla!"

"Or what?" Faendal asked, cocking his head with tired maroon eyes. "You'll hurt me? Beat me?  _Kill_  me? Don't attempt to control me, Sven... I'm not an animal."

And with that, he followed Ula outside and watched as she skipped over to her new favorite tree, which stood tall and proud beside the river. When she finally turned to look at him again, her eyes were sparkling and she seemed excited: the wood elf merely blinked and watched as she faced the water, lifted her hands, took a deep breath... and then thrust her palms out with an unexpected jolt. The elf jumped and leaped away from her with a horrid start when two lightning bolts exploded out of her palms with a deafening thunderclap.

He blinked, breathing quickly and heavily from the fright that had just assaulted him.

When the girl turned back around with a grin and waved him closer, he didn't want to move forward... but his curiosity was piqued when she squatted down in the dirt and started moving her pointer finger around in a precise manner. When he came closer, he blinked in surprise and knelt down as well, taking in everything she'd drawn: from what the elf could tell, he was looking at a drawing of a woman with long hair and stick arms covering her face as tears rained out to the sides.

In front of the stick-woman was a stick-man with a big mask holding a supposedly sparkling blob... the heirloom?

The girl then drew a big, curvaceous line in front of the masked stick-man, a line that started out thick before growing thinner.

The wood-elf frowned when she made a questioning symbol at the very end of it.

"So... may I attempt to voice what this is supposed to mean?" Faendal asked, trying to hide a smirk when the girl happily nodded; giving her a sigh, he pointed at the crying stick woman with perplexed eyes. "From what I can gather...  _that_  is Camilla Valerius crying over the stolen heirloom... and  _that_  is the thief carrying it away from the Riverwood Trading shop... so, does that mean the curving line is the path he took? Is this correct?"

Ula nodded and beamed so winningly that he frowned in confusion.

"Well, what does that all mean?" he asked, sounding confused. "Why show me something like this?"

Ula held up a finger and continued drawing.

Faendal leaned forward and watched with undeniable curiosity as the girl drew a stick figure with a triangular dress and really long ears before making a tall stick man with similar ears shaking hands. Then she drew the two stick people standing in front of Camilla, who's frown had become a smile and had thrown her stick-arms in the air. Then she drew the two stick-elves following the path that the criminal took and marking the question symbol with an 'X'.

After that, she grinned at him with hopeful eyes: his jaw was soon hanging open.

"Wait... are you proposing," he hesitantly began, staring at her with a somewhat nervous expression, "that we should go after those bandits to retrieve the heirloom?"

Ula nodded so frantically that she almost lost her balance: the elf merely stared at her in disbelief.

"You definitely have a shot at getting whatever you're looking for if  _that_  girl goes with you," a familiar Nordic voice commented, making both of them jump and whirl to the side; Ula and Faendal started blinking rapidly when they spotted Ralof lounging against a nearby tree with a hollow expression. "Like every rational person, I originally had a deep hatred for elves, you know... but then I met her and my views were shaken because she alone helped me escape from a dragon attack."

"W-what?!" Faendal squeaked, standing straight up with enormous eyes; he instantly glanced down at Ula, who's eyes had become somber. "D-d-dragon?! What do you mean by that?! I was always told that dragons were nothing more than myths! A child's story!"

"I thought the same thing until one of those very myths burned Helgen right off the map," Ralof grimly explained, glancing at Ula with fierce eyes. "That girl and myself are the only ones who made it out of there alive as far as I know... if there were any other survivors, they most likely had other destinations in mind aside from Riverwood. The girl you're talking to is a mage, friend... she's not a very powerful one, but she's quick enough on her feet to hold her own if you work together. If she thinks you should apprehend some bandits in order to retrieve something important to you, I think you should listen."

"A-are you certain?" Faendal asked, looking a little less dismayed; he honestly seemed to be considering Ula's offer now. "She looks like nothing more than a child."

"From what I gathered, she's by no means a grown woman yet," Ralof snorted, making the Elf frown at him, "but she's as tough as any Nord I've ever met: on our way out of Helgen, she took out several armed men using nothing but quick thinking and sheer willpower. She's a strong girl, mark my words."

Faendal frowned before glancing down at Ula, who was smiling at him with hopeful eyes: she genuinely wanted to help the poor guy win Camilla's heart.

After a moment, the male elf took his hat off and sighed: Ula twitched when his hair came tumbling down around his sharp ears.

It was extremely long on top of being an unusual ash-grey color: the hue was fairly similar to her own, but... somehow, not even close for some reason.

"All right," Faendal finally sighed, shaking his head in total dismay. "Let's go talk to Lucan... I'm sure he'll be thrilled to have someone willing to offer help."

"Hey, Elf Girl," Ralof called, making Ula glance at him questioningly. "I'm planning to rest here for a few more days before I return to Windhelm. Remember what I said, okay?"

Ula immediately recalled his statement about joining the Stormcloaks and sighed, giving him a solemn nod.

With that, Faendal hesitantly led the way towards the Riverwood Trading Shop with Ula close behind: she was nervous, that much was true, but she didn't think it would be too hard for them to retrieve some stolen goods. After all, she could use magic if self-defense became necessary... and if she was going to be honest, she really did want to help Faendal get the heirloom back. She didn't know how they would do it yet, but she knew deep down in her heart that everything would turn out okay.

When Faendal opened the door, however, the two of them were shocked by the sound of an argument taking place.

"Well, one of us has to do something!" a woman with a pixie-like face and glossy dark hair stated in a sour tone; Ula immediately noticed that she had dreamy hazel eyes and pale skin that was dotted with adorable freckles. "We know where it is, Lucan! If we wait any longer, they could take it somewhere else!"

"I said no!" the man standing behind the wooden counter rapped out, gravelly voice coming out extremely sharp. "No adventures, no theatrics, no thief chasing!"

"Well, what are you going to do, then?!" the woman demanded, folding her arms over her chest. "Let's hear it!"

"We are done talking about this, Camilla!" the man roared, slamming his hands down on the shop counter; Ula and Faendal flinched when the woman let out a huff and lowered her arms with a hostile glare. Then the man noticed them standing there with open mouths and coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Oh... er, customers. Sorry you had to hear that... my sister and I were discussing something that happened a few days ago."

The woman turned around and made to head across the room, but then she happened to notice who was standing in the front entrance.

"Faendal?" Camilla asked, blinking at him when he blushed scarlet and looked away with a nervous expression. "Well, this is unusual... who's your pretty friend?"

"I honestly don't know her name," the wood-elf admitted, glancing down at Ula; the girl looked up at him and shrugged. "From what I've gathered, she can't speak."

"Well, if that's the case, hello," Camilla greeted in a sweet, whispering tone of voice; when the woman stepped forward and held out a hand to Ula, who shook it tentatively, the girl immediately noticed that her entire face lit up when she smiled. "Any friend of Faendal's is a friend of mine! I'm Camilla, but if you don't feel comfortable with that, you can just think of me as 'Auntie' if you'd like: every town child does, so I've kind of gotten used to it. I'm sorry you had to hear that... but we've had a bit of trouble with a thief who stole a valuable heirloom from us."

Ula instantly nudged the wood-elf standing beside her: he ran a hand through his silvery hair before moving over to the counter and looking at Lucan.

"Actually, that's why we're here," Faendal murmured, looking the man in the eyes with a solemn expression. "We wanted to know—"

"I don't know what you overheard, but the Riverwood Trader is still open," Lucan interrupted, giving him a wary expression. "Feel free to shop."

 _"That's_  not why we're here," Faendal chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck when Ula came to stand beside him; Camilla sat down and watched the two pointy-eared folk with curious eyes, setting her hands in her lap and looking for all the world like a proper noblewoman. "Actually, we wanted to know what happened... so... do you think you could tell me what went on the other day?"

"Uh... _eeyuugh_..." Lucan reluctantly groaned, wincing a bit before shaking his head in dismay. "Yes, well... uh... we did have a bit of a break-in, but we still have plenty to sell, you know! Robbers were only after one thing, it seems: an ornament... solid gold, in the shape of a dragon's claw."

"Okay," Faendal sighed, then took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. "Y-you see, the reason we're here... is because we want to help you get it back. I used to be a woodsman and an archer, and I also know a bit about swordplay... so... this girl and I want to go get the claw for you. We could do it if you'll have us..."

"You could?!" Lucan asked, eyes widening with a hopeful gleam; Camilla instantly squeezed the hem of her dress with large eyes. "I've got some gold coming in from my next shipment... if you bring the claw back, it's yours. If you're going to get those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, Northeast of town! That's where they are!"

"Are you serious?" Camilla demanded, instantly getting to her feet with a red face. "This is your brilliant plan?! You're going to let Faendal, of all the people living in Riverwood, go get your treasured claw?!"

"Yes," Lucan sneered, giving her a firm glare that made her narrow her eyes. "Now you don't have to go, do you? Stop complaining: he's only an  _elf."_

"Oh, really?" Camilla asked in a low voice, narrowing her hazel eyes in anger. "Well, I think your new helpers here need a guide: elf or not,  _Faendal_  is my  _friend."_

For a moment, Lucan looked taken aback by her statement.

"Wh... no, I..." the man stammered, face turning red. "Oh, by the Eight, fine! But only to the edge of town!"

"As you wish," Camilla stated, then turned and headed for the entrance. "This way, you two..."

"Yes'm," Faendal practically squeaked; Ula watched the woman head outside before following Faendal. "So, how are we supposed to get to Bleak Falls Barrow?"

"We'll have to go through town and across the bridge," Camilla explained, nervously dusting off the front of her rough-spun dress before lifting her eyes and pointing at the closest jagged mountain that loomed above Riverwood. "You can see it from here, though... it's on the mountain just over the buildings."

"I... I've heard tell of odd rumors near those parts," the wood elf muttered, heading off in the direction of his home. "I'll be back... wait right here while I go arm myself."

"As you wish," Camilla murmured, clasping her hands before glancing at Ula, who was staring up at the jagged mountain with somewhat nervous eyes. She hadn't really considered what she was actually getting herself into, and she knew she couldn't tell Kai or Svena what she was planning or they'd try to stop her. With good reason, too, since the girl literally had no fighting experience whatsoever: all she had was a bit of lightning Magicka on her side. "So... are you going with him?"

Ula blinked and glanced up at the woman to see that she looked extremely nervous: after a moment, the albino nodded and hooked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, please... keep him safe, and be very careful," the woman muttered, glancing up when the male came running back down the street wearing a heavy fur jacket with a bow and quiver slung across his back; he also had a steel sword buckled at his waist, and was holding another jacket in his hands. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I should think so," Faendal confirmed, handing the spare jacket to Ula; when she blinked at it in confusion, he sighed and gently slid it over her shoulders. "Put that on so you don't freeze to death, child... Bleak Falls Barrow is high up in the mountains, so it's bound to be extremely cold. We should be there within an hour's time."

With that, they started walking.

"Those thieves must be mad, hiding out there," Camilla nervously muttered, walking down the cobblestone road with a sigh. "Those old crypts are filled with nothing but traps, trolls, and who knows what else."

"I've ventured into a few ancient ruins before," Faendal admitted, shivering a little in dismay. "It was when I was a tad younger... long before I settled down in Riverwood. There are countless dangers, as well as unexplained mysteries. It's said that some ruins hold powerful treasures, too."

"Really?" Camilla asked, glancing at him in genuine surprise. "Wow... I never would have figured you were an explorer before you settled down. That's actually kind of amazing, Faendal! Still... I wonder why they only stole Lucan's golden claw? I mean, we have plenty of other things in the shop that are worth just as much coin."

"Where did he get it, if I may ask?" the wood-elf inquired, sounding a bit curious. "Does he know who fashioned it? Depending on the sculptor, it could be very valuable."

For a moment, the woman's brisk pace faltered and she seemed to think about it: Ula cocked her head and watched as she tapped her jaw.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I have no idea where it came from," Camilla suddenly scoffed, glancing at them in surprise. "Lucan found the claw after he opened the store, and he never quite explained where he got it... he's a tricky one."

"Curious," Faendal murmured, furrowing his brows before he glanced at Ula and nodded to her. "So, are you ready for what may come of this?"

The albino instantly smiled and nodded, swallowing her hesitance and steeling herself: she didn't know what she'd just gotten herself into, but it couldn't be  _that_  bad.

After that, none of them said anything for several minutes... but then they made it to the cobblestone bridge and Camilla stopped walking.

"This is the bridge out of town," Camilla explained, turning and pointing to the road ahead of them. "The path up the mountain to the Northwest leads straight up to Bleak Falls Barrow. I guess I should get back to my brother... he'll throw a fit if I take too long. Such a child... but Mara bless you for agreeing to help us, Faendal."

"I have only one question," the wood elf inquired, hefting his quiver of arrows before adjusting his clothes. "How will we know when we're there?"

"Well, it's a winding road up the mountain just ahead. You'll know you're in the right place once you spot the old watch tower," Camilla explained, thinking about it as she eyed the road with furrowed brows. "Once you get to the tower, head north... bleak falls barrow should be just around the corner further up."

"Thank you," Faendal sighed, gently stepping forward and pulling the woman into an embrace; Ula's cheeks turned pink when Camilla blinked like an owl at everything over his shoulder. "I promise I'll bring the claw back, safe and sound... if it's important to you, it's important to me... so, just wait here and don't worry about a thing: we'll be back before tomorrow morning, I guarantee it."

"F-Faendal..." Camilla whispered, hazel eyes enormously large; then her stunned expression softened and she returned the hug tightly. "Be careful, okay? Good luck... Lucan and I will be waiting for you and your friend back in the shop. Don't let anything bad happen. May the Divines guard your path."

And with that, she tore free of him and ran down the road, rubbing her eyes with one sleeve.

Strands of Ula's long hair drifted in the wind as she stared at the wood-elf's back: he watched the woman go, muscles trembling a bit... but then he squared his shoulders and turned to look at her with a calm expression. His face was aglow with desire... and Ula immediately sighed, giving him a small smile of relief. He looked like a man who had set his resolve in stone, and that made her feel comfortable: both of them were scared, and they both knew as much... but if they worked together, they could get the claw back and return to Camilla unharmed.

Of that much... Ula was certain.

"So," Faendal murmured, smirking at her for the first time that she'd seen. "Are we ready to do this?"

By way of answer, Ula thrust her arm into the air and started marching down the street like something from a comedy stunt.

The wood elf chuckled before following her, not even realizing it when the shadow looming from the mountain seemed to grow colder and darker.

They had no idea what manner of horrors had been awakened inside all of the barrows across Skyrim as a result of the Dragons' coming.

But soon... they most certainly would.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Bleak Falls Barrow**

Halfway to their destination, Ula was glad that Faendal had given her the fur jacket: by the time they made it to the tower that Camilla had told them about, they were already walking through ankle-deep piles of snow. The tiny girl was baffled by the drastic change climate, but she figured it was only natural since the air was colder in the mountains. It wasn't really all that surprising.

"We should stay alert," Faendal warned, pulling an arrow out of his quiver and notching it before glancing down at her with a concerned expression. "If you see anything, be certain to give me a signal... aye? There are countless dangers ahead of us."

Ula nodded before grinning at him; then she jumped, since a pile of snow fell off a branch and landed on her head. Faendal blinked when she sneezed and shook herself off, then glanced at her violently twitching ears before giving a little smirk and waggling his own ears. The girl blinked and rubbed her nose before following him through the falling snow and straight up the mountain.

Soon, however, the light dusting of the flakes somehow changed into a howling blizzard.

Ula had trouble merely seeing her own two feet, let alone Faendal... it was a storm that chilled her to the bone. Ula twitched and clung to the Bosmer's arm when wolves suddenly howled nearby, sounding plaintive. The wood elf seemed unafraid, but he kept a firm grip on his bow, and once he even raised it, sighting down the shaft with tense arms. Because of that, Ula felt extremely jittery: she knew they were going after the ornament... but was violence really necessary? After a moment, though, she realized with an alarmed jolt that it most likely was since they were trying to  _rob_ a group of _bandits._

All of a sudden, Ula was very afraid, and she didn't want to keep going... but she still did so, despite wanting to turn back.

Now all she could do was wonder when she'd lost her common sense.

Had losing her home and seeing so many people die in Helgen warped her point of view on what was dangerous and what wasn't?

That had to be it... she wouldn't have considered something so reckless otherwise.

Tall rocks covered with ice and snow started slanting out of the ground all around them the further up the went. For some odd reason, the closer they got to their destination, Ula began to feel something resounding within her breast. She didn't like it: there was an unfriendly feeling in the air, an animosity that resisted intruders. Above them, growing larger with every step, loomed Bleak Falls Barrow, and its craggy precipices were deeply furrowed with snowy canyons and fallen ruins.

The snow-stained black rock of the mountain absorbed the little sunlight like a sponge and dimmed the surrounding area, leaving behind only a cold blue veil of light.

Between the Barrow and the line of mountains that formed the north side of Riverwood was the cleft they were walking along: it was the only practical path on and off the mountain, after all. Her bare feet crunched in the snow in an extremely cold fashion, making her whine in silence and hop around the patches of snow. In an attempt to keep herself warm, she struggled with all of her might to produce fire Magicka: after nearly ten minutes of suffering, her feet sparked and started glowing orange.

Faendal, on the other hand, glanced at her bare feet and gasped in horror.

"You didn't take shoes?!" he whispered, looking at her with mortified eyes. "Are you crazy?! Your feet will develop frostbite!"

Ula merely pointed at her feet, then at his own knee-high leather boots, and sadly shook her head. He blinked, trying to figure out what she'd meant even when the girl started shivering. However, when it dawned on him, he looked as though he'd been struck by a bolt of lightning: his eyes were that large.

"You don't own a pair of your own?" he asked, staring at her with an unreadable expression. "Is that what you mean? You don't own any shoes?"

Ula nodded and shivered again, then squatted for a moment and warmed up her hands using her own two feet.

Faendal blinked at the sight, then snickered in total amusement.

"That's one way to warm yourself up, I guess," he chuckled, looking at her glowing toes with a quirked eyebrow. "You are a very amusing child."

Ula happily squeezed her eyes shut and pointedly grinned at him, waggling her long ears.

When they started walking again, the snow deepened and the trail lengthened into a dangerously steep path as it skirted the base of the mountain. Ula glanced up at the peak looming over them, but she was startled to see a majestic tower perched upon it. The turret was crumbling and in disrepair, but it was still a stern sentinel over the valley. Her mouth fell open when the snow lightened up a bit... because she was suddenly able to make out ruined arches made of stone.

Her eyes slowly became huge.

These ruins were absolutely enormous in size... bigger than any castle wall she'd ever seen, and more majestic than any tree in Skyrim without a doubt.

Skipping forward, the girl tugged on Faendal's cloak and pointed at the incredible ruins with enormous eyes.

His eyes followed her finger before taking on a somewhat solemn expression.

"That's Bleak Falls Barrow..." Faendal murmured sadly, voice laced with bitterness. "Some believe it to be nothing more than a labyrinth full of treasure, but only a select few know the truth. 'Tis actually a resting place for the warriors who died in an era long past. There are many barrows and ruins scattered across this world... but this one has lasted since its founding. Many ages ago, something happened up here and the area surrounding it was tainted. Hence why nobody enjoys living in its shadow."

Ula glanced away from him and gazed at the enormous ruins with solemn wonder: here was a tangible remnant of Skyrim's former glory, tarnished though it was by the relentless pull of time. It struck her then just how old the lands around her really were: an echo of legacies, tradition, and heroism that stretched back to antiquity was resting right in front of her _._

The girl shook her head uneasily, feeling as though she were shaking off water: she was still mesmerized by what she'd just witnessed.

"I see something up ahead," Faendal suddenly stated, grasping her arm. "Firelight... it looks like a torch."

Ula followed his gaze and stiffened in surprise, since it did indeed seem as though someone was up ahead. She was just about to run over to the person wielding the torch to see if they had a spare one when an arrow sailed out of the darkness. It literally passed by only an inch away from her throat, sailing through the gap between her ear and shoulder and tearing out several strands of her hair in the process. The girl immediately wheezed in pain and clapped her hands like a maniac in order to get Faendal's attention.

Then she bolted over to the nearest rock.

The Bosmer instantly dropped to the ground and crawled over to her, mouth pressed into a thin line: when the wood elf pressed his back against the rock, Ula touched her stinging head with her lips locked into a sour grimace. Having her hair ripped out had  _not_  been a pleasant experience, but she considered herself lucky since it was ONLY her hair that had been damaged by the arrow. Any further to the right and it would have pierced her neck. The pointy-eared companions waited with thudding hearts as a voice broke through the howling wind.

"Oi, I swear I saw somethin over 'ere!" a gruff voice snapped, sounding highly vexed. "It ain't the skooma!"

A muffled response wafted from somewhere unseen.

"No! It's not there, and I also lost the bloody arrow!" the gruff speaker snarled. "Since there ain't no dead body lyin' here, it was probably just a trick of the light! Shor only knows that storms like these can play a trick on the eyes."

"When I give the order," Faendal whispered, catching Ula's attention, "the two of us are going to run for the entrance. Stick close behind me and don't let go of my hand: I've been up here before, many years ago, and I know a side route to the Barrow Entrance that won't get us killed. However, it's highly dangerous."

When Ula swallowed and nodded, he pulled the girl to her feet, then tensed: for several seconds, nothing happened... but then, the elf jerked on her arm and the two of them took off towards the entrance to Bleak Falls Barrow. Ula's heart beat against her chest the same way it had when she'd nearly been killed by the Imperials: the realization that any moment the two of them could die had her blood pumping and her senses on full blast. She looked through the howling wind and whimpered when she realized that Faendal was literally dragging her around a small bend that barely concealed them from sight.

When they finally reached the ruin's monstrous doors and Faendal crouched down, she did the same: nearby, she could hear the bandits muttering to each other.

"Wait here," Faendal whispered, glancing at her with serious eyes when he paused right next to the enormous doors. "I'm going to take care of those fools."

And with that, he pulled out a vial, lifted his hand, and drank the contents before making an arcane gesture that caused his fingers to start glowing green.

Ula jumped in shocked surprise when the Bosmer unexpectedly disappeared, making her fall backwards into the snow as a result.

For a moment, she merely gawked and looked around... but then a horrible question struck her and she crawled forward, lifting her hand to see where he'd gone.

 _Did he vanish and leave me all alone?!_  Ula silently wondered, eyes growing enormous with horror.  _No! It can't be! He couldn't have abandoned me! R-right...?_

However, her heart flipped with a jolt when she felt two warm hands gently grasp her shoulders.

"I'm still here," Faendal's voice whispered, making her shoulders slump in relief. "I'll be right back: I plan to get the jump on them with this. I'm not a very powerful Magicka user, so it'll only last a little while... wish me luck."

Then the touch disappeared.

Ula curled up against the wall and shivered violently, burying her face in her knees as the cold wind howled around her. Everything up on this mountain was white and blue, since the majority of what she could see in the shadows no longer had any sort of warm color. The poor girl was freezing: she wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of a warm fire and go to sleep. Then... the sound of muffled shouts reached her ears and she stiffened in alarm.

Carefully sitting up, the albino girl slowly uncurled from the ground and poked her head up above the edge of the stone barrier she was hiding behind. Her ears twitched when she narrowed her eyes and tried to see beyond the snow... she wanted to know what was happening. However, the muffled sounds ended before they could really pick up... and soon, she heard an odd noise beside her. Instantly whirling to the side and looking around, the girl blinked in confusion when she realized that nothing was there. However, just as she started relaxing, a sigh met her ears and she jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"They killed each other," Faendal stated mournfully. "I had only planned to knock them unconscious, but they killed each other right in front of me... there was no trust between them. I haven't seen something so horrifying in nearly ten years... we should get going before this potion wears off."

Ula's eyes widened in horrified shock when the elf let out a shuddering sound and gripped her arm with unseen fingers.

She swallowed when he led her over to the Barrow Entrance... and together, they pushed the doors open using all of their strength.

Darkness met Ula's eyes when they slid through the tiny gap: the doors slowly ground themselves shut again soon afterwards, completely cutting off all the light. Wait... no, there was some light in here, she just wasn't used to the change in scenery after seeing so much whiteness all around. Blinking her large eyes as they finally adjusted and expanded to an almost impossibly large size, the girl glanced around and gasped in shock at the sight before her.

She was inside a collapsed ruin: pillars of limestone were bathed in pale sunlight streaming in from the crevices in the ceiling, and cobblestones were visible in the few areas that hadn't been completely strewn over with weathered debris. However, when Faendal flinched and shoved her behind one of the nearby stones, it took everything in her power not to let out a wheeze of pain. The girl felt his quiver bump her arm when he pressed against her side, breathing heavily.

"There are two more bandits ahead..." he whispered, making Ula stiffen in surprise; she instantly peered over the rock and spotted a small camp fire with cooking utensils strung out over it. "I'm going to take them out quietly... there's no need for bloodshed, and I know what I'm doing. In three seconds, I want you to hasten over to the pillar in the center of the room: can you do that?"

When Ula nodded, he took off at an unseen pace.

The albino carefully counted to three before hopping over the stone and sprinting over to the pillar like he'd instructed.

However, she paused when she heard a guttural female voice speaking in a thick Nordic accent not even six feet away from where she was now hiding.

"Are you sure it's all right to let Arvel run off with that Golden Claw?" the female bandit demanded. "It seems sort of fishy, saying that such an item is an old key..."

"If that Dark Elf wants to go on ahead, let him," a deep male voice grunted back, making Ula swallow; both of them sounded really, really big. "Better him than us risking our necks."

"What if Arvel doesn't come back?" the woman inquired, sounding a little haughty with the suggestion. "I want my share from that claw. I could care less if it's a key!"

"Just shut it," the man grunted, sounding irritated. "We need to keep an eye out for trouble."

Feeling nervous since she couldn't see Faendal, Ula slowly tried to peer around the pillar, but her heart nearly stopped when her foot slipped on a patch of ice.

The resounding thud echoed throughout the entire interior of the Barrow Entrance, and she heard the sound of swords being drawn.

"What was that?" the woman hissed in a low voice, sounding alarmed. "Did you hear it?"

"Yes," the man retorted just as quietly, making the albino's hair stand on end. "Let's go see what that was..."

Covering her mouth in horror, the fifteen-year-old frantically looked around and spotted the shadows the bandits were casting on the ground. Her ears twitched and she slowly began crawling around the pillar, heart pounding in her ears. She pressed her back against it and slid to the side when the two of them walked around the edge of the stone and looked around: she had barely made it out of that one... it was giving her gooseflesh.

"I know I heard something," the male bandit stated in a slow tone, making the girl press her head back against the pillar with terrified eyes. "Soling, see anything?"

"No," the female bandit grunted, sounding confused. "There's nothing h—OOF!"

Ula twitched when the sound of a crack and a loud thud split the air: almost immediately, the male bandit whirled around with an arrow already notched... but Ula could hear his breath hitch when he realized that he couldn't see the enemy. Her heart flew up into her throat and she clasped her hands, praying to all nine Divines—yes, she did believe that Talos was worthy enough to be revered if he could actually grant blessings—that Faendal would take care of everything.

"Who's there?!" the bandit barked, rushing over to his fallen comrade. "Show yourself!"

However, only a split second after Ula saw his shadow kneel down, Ula saw another shadow ripple out of nowhere just as two arms holding a huge rock came down on the bandit's head. Another crack split the air, and quite abruptly, both of the hostiles had been knocked unconscious. Ula shakily crawled out of hiding and dusted her backside off, wincing when she realized she'd gotten her new clothes wet with dirt and mud.

She already felt guilty about it.

"The potion wore off," Faendal panted, tossing the stone aside and rubbing his forehead. "Good thing it lasted until that moment... I was afraid it would wear off before I had time to incapacitate them. If that had happened, bloodshed would have been unavoidable."

Ula swallowed and nodded in agreement.

But then, out of nowhere, it happened.

For the first time in her life, the melodious vibrations of life that had always been resonating in her ears fell still... and slowly, but surely, it was replaced with a pulsing sensation that rippled through her soul, making her eyes go blank and her shoulders tense in alarm. Slowly turning and facing the tunnel leading further into the Barrows, the girl shuddered violently since this sensation was somewhat familiar. She'd felt it when the dragon that had attacked Helgen had roared... this unidentifiable desire.

The desire to sing... to resonate... to channel Nirn through her being and let the world hear it.

Faendal watched with furrowed brows as the girl slowly and almost robotically headed for the tunnel that led down into the ruins.

"I'll assume you're ready," the Bosmer murmured, hefting his bow and notching an arrow with wary maroon eyes. "I'll guard your back."

Ula didn't acknowledge his statement... in fact, she barely heard it. The pulsing was drawing her, step by step, to its source: her eyes had become devoid of emotion, her face was blank, and she looked as though she'd gone into a trance. The pointy-eared acquaintances headed deep into the tunnels, one on full alert and the other not even realizing that she was moving any longer. However, when Ula rounded a corner and started to head down into the next room, Faendal spotted another bandit directly ahead of them and jumped forward.

The girl didn't even twitch when he grabbed her wrist, pulled her back against his chest, and gently covered her mouth.

The wood elf watched the bandit with a wary expression as he approached an ancient pulley-lever resting in the very middle of the room. His maroon eyes snapped to the crumbled statue resting beside the closed gate the bandit was eying, then gasped quietly in horror.

He instantly covered Ula's eyes and turned his face away, for not even a second later, the bandit activated the ancient switch. Instead of hearing metal grating against stone, odd whisking noises and a bloodcurdling scream filled the air.

Then another scream... and another... and another... and another... and another...

Faendal turned Ula around and covered her ears with a grim expression, brown face turning extremely ashen: the bandit's screams lasted nearly ten minutes before they finally cut off with a gurgling whine. When the wood elf turned around, the man was lying on the ground with his intestines puddling on the ground.

"Acid darts," he muttered, shuddering and trying not to vomit. "These men aren't very clever... he should have known that all of the levers and switches in this place are rigged with traps of all varieties. Spike pits... swinging walls with barbed poison... boulders the size of village huts... and acid darts, the most common. Come, girl... let's deactivate the trap by aligning the pedestals in the manner they are supposed to be in. The Nords of Old were very fond of little puzzles such as these."

When he glanced down at Ula, however, he jolted and immediately stepped away from her when he noticed that her eyes were glowing with blue light. Her hair had also become weightless, somehow. Then he stepped back a bit further and gasped, covering his mouth, because it wasn't just her hair... the girl's entire body looked as though it had been submerged underwater. There was an odd mark on her throat that was pulsating with azure luminescence, making him frown in a serious manner.

Ula merely stood there when he headed into the next room and started examining a set of rotational engraved stones.

Then he started turning them.

"Snake... snake... whale..." Faendal muttered, panting as he finished hauling the last stone around. "Divines, I hope this is correct... I'm afraid of what might happen."

There was no response from Ula, although, the weightless effect seemed to have died down quite a bit: the glow in her eyes was slowly, but surely, fading away.

The ash-haired male hesitantly approached the switch and jerked it back before diving out of the way, landing heavily on the ground with his hands over his head.

However, only the sound of the gate rising filled the air this time.

Ula immediately started walking, stepping clean through the dead man's blood without noticing and leaving bloody footprints behind her. Faendal immediately turned bone white and halted, staring at the path she was leaving behind. The girl's beribboned white hair swirled behind her like a glistening cloud as she turned left and headed for a spiraling staircase made of rotting wood. Not breaking her stride, the girl started descending in a slow manner... almost, Faendal noticed, like a woman possessed.

He swallowed, not knowing how to react... but then a blinding violet flash exploded from the depths of the stairs, accompanied by a deafening thunderclap that shook the entire Barrow and made several of the stonework supports crackle weakly. Sneezing violently, the wood elf hastily hurried down the stairs only to find that Ula had literally slaughtered three Skeevers that had apparently tried to attack her. She was already almost to the bottom of the stairs.

"What on earth has gotten into her?" he wondered aloud, hopping down through the center of the stairs and landing lightly just below her feet.

However, the farther in they went... the more Faendal started to notice signs of something living in the barrows.

Signs that couldn't be ignored.

He swallowed a second time: the walls were completely covered in spider webs.

They soon found themselves walking through a few of them that had been strung out across the tunnels, but Ula didn't even notice them and merely paraded right on through. However, the two of them had only been walking for about five minutes when a fearful voice called out from somewhere close by.

"Is... is someone coming?!" a lightly accented male voice cried. "Bjorn?! Hakir?! Soling? I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!"

"Hold on!" Faendal called, pulling his sword out and hacking away at an extremely thick web that had blocked their path. "We're coming, so hold still. We're not your companions, but there is no need to fret. You may rest your conscience, since we did not kill them: merely disarmed them."

"What?!" the male voice shouted, sounding horrified. "Who are you?!"

"That is none of your concern," the wood elf called back, rolling his eyes as he hacked the last of the webbing away. "We'll be there in a moment."

However, when he finally managed to crawl through the hole he'd made, his face went slack: Ula, who slowly followed, froze as well and her expression twitched.

Then the glow in her eyes went out like a candle before a storm.

The girl's ears instantly flattened back against her skull and she rubbed her eyes, looking as though she'd just woken up from a dream. However, when she realized where they were standing and what was around them, her muscles froze and she collapsed to her knees... only to look down at the floor and burst into tears. She instantly leapt off the ground and smashed into Faendal's back, wrapping her legs around him and shuddering violently.

"What in Shor's Blood are you doing?" the elf squeaked, flailing around to get her off of his back. "Get off me!"

However, she only clung that much tighter.

Her eyes were frenzied: she had no idea how she'd gotten where she was, and on top of that, she felt as though she'd found herself stuck in a hellish nightmare. All around her were spiderwebs and egg sacks resting in gooey corners... they were everywhere, and on the floor were ensnared lumps and husks—presumably creatures that used to be alive.

"Hey, you!" the ensnared bandit called, flapping his leg to get their attention. "Help me out of here! Please! I'll make it worth yer while, I promise!""

"Get... off!" Faendal growled, struggling to pry the girl's arms off his throat. "Gods! Stop being a child and let go of me already! NOW!"

Ula gasped when the elf bent over and used the momentum to throw her over his head: she landed on her back and cracked her head against the floor.

However, as a result, their lives were saved: the moment Ula opened her eyes again, she saw what was crawling on the ceiling above them.

Mouth dropping open in horror, the girl let out one of her weak little wheeze-screams and thrust her hands out with a terrified kick of her legs: two lightning bolts exploded from her palms, lancing an enormous arachnid that had been getting ready to pounce on them. The girl flailed around when it slipped off the ceiling, then rolled out of the way and baby-crawled to the farthest corner in the room. Her ears roared black as she buried her head in her knees. She couldn't scream... she could cry... she couldn't do anything. She felt as though she were going to faint... the world was spinning... spiders, spiders, gods, how she hated spiders!

 _Make them go away,_  she whimpered, rocking back and forth.  _Go away _ _go away_  _ _ _go away_  _ _ _go away_  _ _ _go away_  _ _ _go away_  _go  _away__ —

When something finally touched her arm... it wasn't a spider leg, it was Faendal.

He was holding out a hand to her, and the giant menace was lying dead on its side with twitching legs and green fluid oozing from it's stomach.

Shuddering violently, the girl allowed him to help her up... but then, he turned and hastily whisked towards the bandit, Arvel.

"You did it! You killed it!" the dark elf gasped, looking at them with frightened yellow eyes. "Now cut me down before anything else shows up!"

Faendal merely scowled and whipped his blade up like lightning, pressing the tip against the dark-elf's throat and making him tilt his head away from it.

"Where is the Golden Claw?" the Bosmer demanded in a low tone. "Answer me!"

"Yes, the claw! I know how it works!" Arvel babbled, making Faendal frown in confusion. "The claw, the markings, the door in the hall of stories—I know how they all fit together now! Help me down and I'll show you! You won't believe the power the Nords have stored in there!"

For a long moment, Faendal merely leered at his face with narrowed eyes.

Ula shivered and watched with bated breath, not knowing what to expect any longer.

"Fine," her companion finally muttered, lifting his sword and hacking at the webbing. "Let's see if I can find away to get you down from here."

"Sweet breath of Arkay, thank you!" the other male groaned, sounding extremely relieved; within moments, he was able to move his arms... and soon, he started helping with the hacking process. "It's coming loose! I can feel it! Thank you! Thank you!"

Faendal sighed and continued hacking away at the webbing.

[But because of that, he didn't see the bandit's grin.](https://m.soundcloud.com/jedediah1212/skyrim-bleak-falls-barrow-mp3)

Soon, Arvel slid out of the webbing... but then he lunged forward, brandishing a dagger that neither of them had seen being clutched in his hand. Ula jumped away and covered her mouth in horror when Faendal let out a shout, but it was too late: the bandit ran him through, then whirled around and took off into the tunnels.

"Thank you!" the dark elf's voice cackled somewhere far off. "You really saved me!"

The albino's heart nearly stopped when her friend clutched his chest and staggered forward, collapsing to his knees and planting one hand on the ground.

He coughed... and her throat locked up with terrified tears when she saw blood streaming onto the cobblestone.

"Help... me..." he whispered, falling over on his side and curling into a ball; he shifted his gaze and looked right at her, maroon eyes glazed. "Help... my heart is..."

Blood was pumping through his fingers: Ula's face rapidly turned pale, and she lunged over to his side, focusing with all the willpower inside her body.

She rubbed her hands like Svena always did, then slapped them against the wound as her hands started glowing with a soft golden light.

 _No!_ she wailed in silently anguish, heart thudding wildly.  _It's not strong enough! I need more! Please, heal him! Please! Please please please please please_ —

Her train of thought went blank when a sudden jolt ran through her, and in an instant, a nauseous wave of agony enveloped her chest.

Head limply tipping back, the girl's eyes once again became devoid of emotion and started glowing blue; almost simultaneously, the golden glow around her hands shifted in color to a dark crimson, and the elf's wound began to heal of its own accord. Ula's hands started moving of their own accord: arcane flourishes graced the air above Bosmer's chest, causing his spilled blood to flow back inside his body. Faendal's eyes were dilated, and he was panting rapidly... but when the wound closed and his eyes rolled back, he was still breathing.

Still alive.

Then Ula came back down to earth... and she very nearly fainted.

Her body fell forward on top of Faendal's, but the smell of blood roused her before she could actually pass out: she dizzily shook the wood elf's shoulder, trying to wake him... but nothing worked. In the end, she crawled to her feet and weakly struggled to drag him over to one of the alcoves where the dead had once been laid to rest. As long as he didn't move and didn't make any noise, perhaps anything or anyone that saw him would think he was a corpse, too.

It was better than leaving him lying out in the open... because, sadly enough, she wasn't going to turn back.

She was going to keep moving forward.

After getting Faendal to a relatively safe-looking alcove, the girl shivered violently and hurried down the tunnel after Arvel. Her bare feet were silent against the stone as she darted around winding corners and twisting paths full of ancient corpses and cobwebs. Then... out of nowhere... a sword was swung at her from around a corner. The girl's knees buckled before her mind could react: still running, her body bent itself backwards and she practically crushed her own spine when she hit the ground.

"Damn!" Arvel hissed, swiping at her again; the girl flopped on her side in a clumsy dodge and scrambled back to her feet, backing away from him and pressing herself against the wall. "Your friend was a fool, little girl! Why should I share the treasure with anyone?! The claw is mine now, and since I murdered your little pal, I figure it's your turn."

Ula, however, was no longer looking at him.

She was looking behind him with an open mouth and enormous pink eyes. Her ears had stuck straight out, her already pale-skin had become almost translucent due to the blood draining from her face, and her limbs had started shaking. Arvel sneered in a cocky manner, obviously thinking it was him she was afraid of... but he was so wrong.

So very, very wrong.

One of the corpses lying in its resting place had twitched and flicked its eyes open.

Ula jumped when it sat up and jerkily lifted her hand, frantically pointing over the elf's shoulder with a horrified expression.

"What's this?" he sneered, not seeing the mummified corpse that was approaching him from behind. "Trying to distract me so you can get away?"

The girl frantically shook her head and jumped up and down in horror, flailing at the mummy behind him with her eyes bugging out of her head.

"I'm not falling for that," he sneered, taking a step towards her. "Don't mock me, little girl... I'm smarter than you—"

He never finished his sentence... nor took another step.

A horrible squelching noise suddenly split the air, and Arvel twitched, mouth opening and closing as the blood ran down his forehead. Ula drew in a deep breath and let out a wheeze-scream, covering her mouth with both hands in horror. The girl slowly lifted her hugr eyes from the sword that had cleaved the elf's skull to the creature that had been holding it... and in an instant, her blood turned to ice.

 _The dead are walking,_  she whispered in silent horror, pressing herself against the wall with hunched shoulders as a set of glowing blue eyes locked onto her face.  _Gods above... dead people are walking! The dead have come back to life! What in the name of Mara is going on here?!_

She had no more time for questions that couldn't be answered: lifting her hands, the girl released an explosion of lightning Magicka that blasted the mummified corpse off it's feet. The head broke off when it smashed against the wall, but when the girl whirled around, she found herself facing two more of them.

Her eyes instantly flew open wide and she lifted her hands, focusing her mind and sending more Magicka erupting from her palms.

The undead went down... then started getting back up.

 _EEEK! NONONONONONO!_ the girl silently wailed, hair bristling up around her ears; after three more attempts at killing the creatures with no result, the poor girl threw her hands in the air and ran past them at top speed.  _NOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! FAENDAL, WAKE UP!_   _HURRY!_

She nearly burst into tears all over again when she heard undead growls and crunching footsteps behind her.

But then... all of a sudden... the girl stepped on a platform she hadn't seen.

Ula's mind went blank with horror when she saw the spike wall swinging at her.

There was no way for her to avoid it.

She was going to die.

 _Someone,_  the girl whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as the world slowed down.  _Help me..._

Her long hair and white dress slowly billowed around as she tried to skid to a halt and dodge, feet skidding across the ground.

_Help me..._

Her body slowly twisted as she curled herself away from the spikes, trying to prevent herself from being speared.

_Help me!_

Her mouth opened in a silent scream, large eyes widening as the spikes came roaring at her.

_HELP MEEEEEE!_

And then... at the last possible second... help came in what could only be described as an ironic miracle.

 **"Fus..."**  a mummy's gravelly voice hissed, seeming to echo all around her.  **"ROH DAH!"**

The blue wave of energy smashed into her body, knocking her so hard into the mummies who'd been chasing her that she smashed them into pieces. The spike wall smashed against the stone as she slid to a halt only a foot from the other end of the tunnel, then slowly retracted and resumed it's original spot. The girl clutched her chest and her head thumped against the ground, breathing hard with her heart hammering up her throat.

Her entire body was shaking.

She had almost died... it had been sheer luck that she'd lived through that.

Speaking of which... when she glanced up, she spotted another undead mummy stalking towards her.

Tiredly lifting a hand, the girl pointed her finger at its head and conjured another lightning bolt.

With a flash and a bang, the now-decapitated mummy dropped to its knees and fell flat on the ground, still trying to walk forward.

Then the girl let her head thump back down against the ground, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep right there and pretend it was all a horrid nightmare.

However, she wasn't that nuts, which was kind of a pity since she seriously wanted to do it.

After catching her breath and slowly crawling to her knees, the girl slowly crawled over to Arvel's corpse and started searching the pack he'd strapped onto his back. She found the golden claw inside it, safe and sound... but right next to it, she saw a journal and blinked, frowning in confusion. After a moment of thought, the girl carefully removed the journal and flipped it open, wondering about what sort of thing a bandit might have written in it. What she saw startled her: there was only one page, front and back, that had been filled.

 _'My fingers are trembling,'_ Ula silently read _,_ slowly calming down thanks to the familiar act. _'The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow. Now I just need to get to the hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says that there is a test the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but they also say this: 'when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands."'_

There was nothing else written: the girl flipped through the entire thing just to make sure.

However, she slowly lifted her head when that pulsing sensation swept through her... coaxing her to keep moving forward.

She didn't want to... but somehow, deep within the marrow of her bones... nay, even deeper than that... she knew something here was calling her.

Something was waiting for her, and her alone, just beyond the end of this labyrinth.

She felt it... it was almost as if she'd known it all along.

Against her better judgement, the girl stuffed the golden claw and the journal back inside the bandit's pack and slid it off his limp arms. Then, after slinging the backpack over her own shoulders, Ula swallowed fearfully and steadied herself. With bated breath... she took her first step forward... then her second... and her third.

She didn't stop after that: she didn't look back.

All she could do was move forward, ducking around certain unfamiliar areas almost as if she'd done it a thousand times before.

Something was calling her.

Something powerful.

And she was going to find it no matter what.


	8. Chapter 8

**Memory Trigger**

Ula's determination to keep moving forward was nearly snuffed out after she was very nearly sliced into pieces by another trap.

Shockingly, an entire corridor's worth of swinging axes were set into motion this time: if it hadn't been for her catlike reflexes and her abnormal flexibility, she would have been killed in an instant. It was only thanks to one of the walking mummies' clumsiness that she survived: she'd seen it fall over after stepping on a stone that had sunk completely out of sight. After dodging five pendulums of death and blasting the mummy with a bolt of lightning Magicka, Ula leapt out of harm's way and fell against the wall with shaking muscles.

Her eyes had gone blank with horror and she seemed to have gone clean into shock.

Several moments passed where nothing happened... but then she sank down to her knees.

 _I hate tombs!_ the girl silently wailed, hugging herself and shivering violently with terror-stricken eyes; tears streamed down her cheeks as she trembled.  _I hate this place! I hate it! I just want to get out of here!_

She was so tempted to fall into that urge that she almost turned tail, but something stilled her.

 _Wait... no..._ Ula silently reasoned, shivering violently.  _Not yet, there's something I need to do here... I can feel it. Don't think, just walk. Keep walking.  
_

Slowly and shakily rubbing her eyes, the girl shakily stood back up and started making her way down the endless labyrinths. As she walked, however, that pulsing sensation once again overwhelmed her, and the mark on her throat began burning brightly. She felt lighter with each step she took, and soon, she managed to find her way into a ruined burial chamber. The girl instantly turned to the right and headed for the gate that had collapsed on itself.

Just as she was about to yank on the chain that opened it, a loud crash exploded from somewhere behind her.

Ula instantly whirled around with her heart practically throbbing out of her throat from the fright... but then, she had a fit of extreme hysteria, because an enormous mummy with spiked black armor and glowing blue eyes was stepping out of its coffin. The girl twitched and started shaking when she realized that the monstrosity was dragging a great sword behind it.

Lifting her hands with a terrified wheeze, the girl let loose two bolts of magicka.

The walking corpse staggered, then continued walking towards her, sword dragging across the ancient quarry stone.

Pupils contracting, the tiny girl drew her arms back and started hurling bolts of lightning at the creature, hair standing on end and ears sticking straight out: after the first initial stumble, the horrid creature didn't even twitch and merely kept moving.

Slow... precise... it was going to kill her.

Not because she was any sort of threat, which she probably was with magicka like hers, but because she was the only living thing within seeing distance. Ula's ears pulled back and flattened down against the side of her head when the mummy slowly raised its sword: she could hear its bones creaking beneath the ancient armor, most likely from the strain of holding the weapon.

Then she got an idea, and her heart skipped a beat as hope flooded through her.

With a great crash, the blade came down... but Ula leapt to the side just in the nick of time.

Twisting her body like a cat's and lifting her left arm as she fell, the girl's eyes sharpened on the mummy's joints and she channeled a concussive lightning bolt out of her palm, using her right arm as a stabilizer for a precise shot. The electricity lanced the creature's head and took it clean off, sending it rolling across the ground: the decapitated torso immediately fell over and attempted to continue walking.

Then it slowly began to dissolve with a glittering blue light, turning to ashes before her very eyes.

Shakily getting to her feet, the girl dusted her backside off and tiptoed over to the pile of dust that lay scattered across the stone floor. She blinked several times and patted her chest in an attempt to slow her racing heart down: she felt dazed and detached for some reason, almost as if her fear had gone away or something else had smothered it out of her consciousness.

Muscles shaking, the girl jerked on the chain and stepped back when the gate clanked loudly, groaning as the ancient hidden cogs hauled it upward.

Weakly, the girl stumbled her way through it and made her way across several uneven tunnels. She made it through a cave like space and even forded a small underground river by hopping some useful stones... but then, she found herself heading towards another lighted area and twitched in surprise when she felt something rising up from her subconscious. Panting heavily, the tiny girl made her way towards the giant stone doors ahead of her and eyed them in confusion. Above them was an ancient script that seemed to flash and flicker in front of her eyes.

[Ula swayed and her irises glazed over when a sudden rush of images flooded into her mind.](https://soundcloud.com/jedediah1212/skyrim-forgotten-power-mp3)

Millions of them.

She saw the same place... the same words... the same doors... but in each memory, she was looking at them through someone else's eyes.

Then she came back to her senses and blinked away the visions behind her eyes.

 _I've done this before,_  Ula stated silently, somehow not even questioning her sudden feeling.  _I've been here before... this isn't normal. Something's wrong._

Despite her urge to turn back, however, the girl hesitantly stepped forward and threw her weight against one of the doors. She struggled and heaved with all her might, and slowly... the mammoth-sized construct began to move, inch by inch, until it was wide enough for her to move through. After wriggling her way through it, the girl continued through the maze, but she had another good scare when more axe-traps came raining down on one of the corridors.

But then... she came to a set of ancient, rotting, and absolutely revolting wooden doors.

She didn't even need to push them open: one touch and they fell to the ground in pieces... but ahead of them was a hall that seemed to have been untouched by the hand of time. Blinking rapidly in shock, the girl slowly stepped forward and looked around in awe at the carvings that had been engraved onto the stones around her. She stared at them, marveling at how beautiful they were... and slowly, she made her way towards the wall at the end of the ancient walkway.

However, after a moment, something about the carvings caught her eye and she paused.

All of the carvings on each wall looked exactly alike... aside from the beings resting in the center.

 _Three warriors facing the God... two eagles facing away from the god,_  the girl pondered, frowning as she stepped forward; after hooking a strand of hair behind her pointy ear, the girl glanced at each carving resting in the very epicenter of the murals and blinked. She had been correct: the beings that had been carved into the center were all winged, and they had all been portrayed as wearing the same garb... but their faces were fundamentally different.

For example: one had closed eyes that tilted upwards, while another had open eyes that slanted downwards.

All of them had different noses and different beards.

The girl cocked her head in perplexity, then glanced towards the wall at the end of the corridor, which had the oddest markings of all.

Slowly making her way forward, the girl examined the engraved stone resting in front of her with a stunned expression.

Amongst the swirling patterns, there were three circular ridges, each with an animal engraved on it: a dragonfly, an owl, and a bear.

Below the rings was an iron metalwork disk with three holes and the imprinted bones of a dragon's claw.

After fingering the metalwork and eying the ridges for several minutes, the girl's finger brushed against the bear pendent... and the entire ridge let out a thunking noise that shook the entire wall. Ula jumped back and watched with a wary expression as the stone began to slide, moving slowly and roughly until another carving had taken its place. The poor girl was immediately baffled.

 _What is this thing?_  she wondered, blinking violently in dismay; then Arvel's words came back and she froze.  _No... it can't be..._

Instantly shrugging off the pilfered backpack, the girl grabbed the claw and lifted it up, holding it flush with the center pieces of the wall. Her eyes widened when she realized that the placements for the structure fit perfectly, and against her better judgement, she hesitantly slid the golden claw's talons into the slats.

The door immediately jolted.

For several moments, hidden gears turned within the walls... but then they fell still.

 _Okay... now would be the time for thinking,_ Ula muttered silently, sitting down in front of the doors and folding her arms.  _How am I supposed to get this thing open? It's not a wall, that much is certain... but if it truly is a door, why isn't the key working? Perhaps the clue is a riddle... 'when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands'?_

Thinking it over, the girl glanced down at the claw itself... but then her stomach flopped and her eyes bugged out of her skull.

Flipping the key around, she saw that a pattern of animals had been engraved onto the palm of the claw: bear, dragonfly, owl.

Instantly leaping to her feet, the girl stood on her tiptoes and tapped the door like a wildfire, dancing from foot to foot. Once the correct symbols were in place, the girl put the claw back inside and twisted it before pulling back out. However, she immediately jumped away since the reaction was instantaneous: all three circular ridges spun around at a rapid pace, moving in opposite directions before coming to an abnormal halt.

Once all three owls were lined up in a row, the door jolted and let loose an explosion of dust.

Ula's amethyst eyes widened when the door slowly began to lower, revealing an ancient set of stairs leading up to a dimly lit area. Within seconds, a gust of air whipped out of the opening, sending her hair swirling behind her in a cloud of white. In that moment, her heart jolted and her knees buckled, bringing the poor girl down on all fours. She could hear the music... there was music calling her just ahead... powerful music.

It throbbed steadily in the shape of many voices.

Slowly crawling forward, the girl made it to the stairs and hauled herself upright, taking one shaking step at a time until she was walking through an ancient cavern towards a brilliantly lit area. More images flashed in her mind... more memories that weren't really hers. With each step she took, she saw through more eyes, saw the fate of what lay before her. She slowly descended the stairs leading to the ancient wall... the wall in which her dreams were written on. Her eyes glazed over as she slowly approached the glowing word that called to her... the one creating the music... it wanted her.

The word wanted her.

Her eyes all but exploded with two beams of brilliant light that quickly shifted in hue from blue to white.

 **"Thuum fin lok..."**  the albino abruptly whispered, sending a rumble of thunder reverberating around the room.  **"Soraah..."**

Her voice echoed for what felt like hours.

The closer she went to the wall, the brighter her body began to glow: the blue mark on her throat hissed into view and began to wind around her torso, slowly turning white like the luminescence radiating from her eyes. The ghostly wings once again exploded out of her back, and her hair reversed gravity, floating towards the sky and swirling around like a cloud made of silken snow. Then the light from the word engulfed her, dimming her vision. More images... no... memories...?

Somehow, she had seen all of this before...

A voice resounded within her mind... a human voice, one full of hatred an wrath.

" _Believers hearken to me!_ " it roared in a thick Nordic accent, sounding full of satisfaction and triumph; she had a mental flash of a dragon with scales darker than the night sky being pinned down against the ground by men who were thrusting their blades into its wings. " _Twenty score men and seven thousand dragons have been slain this day! Heed my words, Alduin, and speaketh them to all in the next life, that they shall ever be obeyed even under the light of the proud and merciless sun! I shall bring down bitter vengeance upon thee and thou shalt suffer eternal wrath! An endless cycle of merciless death shall befall thee and thou betrayers of Man!"_

Ula clutched her forehead and fell to her knees, eyes squeezing shut with pain.

The mark on her neck shattered as the sensation in her head intensified, shredding her mind from the inside out. She felt a tugging at her core, a sensation that wanted to rip her out of her body. Drawing in a deep breath, the girl planned on letting loose one of her pathetic wheezes in place of a scream... but instead, a voice that was extremely loud and horribly high-pitched exploded from her mouth.

The sound of it had the walls shaking and everything around her began to tremble, sending stone and dust raining down on everything from above. A roaring gale exploded around her torso, lifting her hair and dress towards the heavens: the girl arched her back, clutching her head as the tugging sensation grew more intense. Her eyes were large, but she didn't dare let out another scream.

Then... she finally slipped.

Ula was dragged out of her body and down through darkness.

 _I'm dead,_  she silently mourned, closing her eyes as she fell.  _I never should have left Riverwood... Svena, Kai, I'm so sorry..._

_However, then her fall slowed and she slowly opened her eyes, feeling more alive than not._

_She was in a strange place, a realm that waited beyond the conscious mind._

_The veil of unreality had fallen over her vision... almost as if she'd entered the clutches of deep sleep, and it was now obscuring the landscape of her psyche with a haziness that confounded her sense of what was real. And yet, the distorted feeling of the world around her also made the jumbled mix of images incredibly vivid._

_That's when she realized it: she had fallen right into a dream._

_To those whose dreams were for the most part unpleasant, this peculiarity was a blessing; a chance to explore a range of scenarios, some mundane, some bizarre, without the limitations and consequences of the real. To others, whose twilight fantasies often came in the form of horrors that left them feeling haunted even after awakening, it was a curse._

_Everyone had nightmares, there was no denying that._

_However, according to Svena... there were certain people whose nightmares outnumbered and outmatched ordinary dreams in sum and clarity. To them, the scope of the fear and dread and sheer terror inherent to these incredibly lifelike visions was such that they would rather not dream at all, if it would allow them to escape the torment of waking up in a cold sweat nearly every night from some terrifying tableau._

_Ula was one such individual: since the day she'd washed up on the shores of Darkwater lake, she'd had nightmares every single night._

_And right now, she knew was dreaming: the odd sense of displacement combined with the swirl of jumbled images could only be found in a place beyond the limits of one's physical reality. The mosaic seemed to bend and warp with every passing moment, until a disturbing red haze fell over her vision, as if she were seeing through a shroud of flowing blood vessels. The images coalesced into a lone scene that was startlingly familiar, even though she'd never seen it before. She was standing on top of an enormous mountain, and in front of her were two... dragons?_

_She gasped, eyes widening as the image rippled._

_Yes... in front of her were two dragons: one blacker than the darkest of nights, and another one that shone brighter than the sun._

_"Hmm... have my words no meaning to you, brother?" the golden one ground out in a gravelly tone. "The Voice cannot be used in such ways. Man must win his wars without our aid: timeless are the ages in which the Dovah will preside. Man is but a spark to our flame."_

_"My brother, you are wrong!" the black dragon snarled, tail lashing clean through Ula's body. "The Mortals are slaughtering the Dovah and stealing souls left and right! If we do not fight back, our lives will no longer be ours! Paarthurnax, _they will destroy us_!"_

_"Do not break the Oath of the Skies, Alduin," the golden dragon hissed, turning his spiteful crimson eyes on the smaller one. "We are all under the oath: those who break it are exiled. You cannot fight Man because I declare that it is so. I am the eldest. Obey me."_

_"You would bind me to such a fate?!"_   _Alduin growled, making Ula wince with a shiver_. " _What will be said of us in years to come if we do not aid our brethren—that we hid atop the Sky Rim like cowards while our kin were slaughtered? If there will be a fight, let us face it and not shy away! We are dragons! Even a god would flee from us! Yet here we are, crouching on a mountain like frightened rabbits!"_

_"ENOUGH!" Paarthurnax roared, sending the albino to her knees with her hands over her head. "YOU WILL OBEY ME, BROTHER!"_

_"I shall not! Blood will meet blood!" the black dragon hissed back, yellow eyes unblinking as he stared into his elder brother's narrowed crimson gaze. "Our faelduum—our fates—bind us, but try me not. I will fight to protect our kind."_

_"Into foolishness you fly," Paarthurnax warned in a dangerous tone, baring his fangs with a growl. "Should you leave... never return."  
_

_"If that is your wish, I bid you my final farewell," Alduin hissed, instantly swinging his long neck and leaping off the edge of the cliff. "Goodbye, brother."_

_Soon he was gone... and Ula was being pulled away, up into a veil of blinding light._

_Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath as she was bathed in warmth._

Then she found herself staring at a moss-covered stone, body aching all over and muscles completely sore.

"Are you awake?" a familiar voice asked, making her heart skip a few beats; slowly turning her head, Ula was startled to see Faendal sitting beside her with a worried expression on his face. His expression softened into relief when she coughed and rubbed her aching throat, shuddering all over. "You gave me quite a scare... when I awoke, I thought I was dead, but then I realized I was still breathing and all of my faculties were in order. Then I noticed that you were missing and followed the trail you left behind."

Ula opened her mouth and tried to speak after remembering the scream that had come out of her mouth, but nothing escaped aside from a rather pathetic-sounding wheeze.

Her ears instantly drooped.

However, after a moment she remembered what wa most important and straightened like a wooden board. Slowly sitting up, the girl slid the backpack off her shoulders and yanked it open.

Faendal's eyes widened and he gasped when she pulled the golden claw out.

"You... you've got it!" he exclaimed, instantly taking it from her hands with enormous eyes. "How on earth did you... oh..."

Ula was just about to explain what had happened when the lid on a nearby sarcophagus exploded into the air

Both of them jumped in alarm and whirled around.

The Bosmer's mouth fell open in horror and he practically squealed when a frightening mummified behemoth of a corpse dragged itself out of its tomb and hefted an enormous double edged axe.

"W-what in the name of Akatosh is  _that?!"_ Faendal stammered, instantly drawing his sword and dragging Ula to her feet. "A... a walking corpse?! This isn't possible! There's no Necromancer around here, so how is it moving?!"

Ula merely lifted her hands and shot two lightning bolts out of them: they struck the giant in the head, but instead of taking it down, it only staggered the beast and spun it off balance. Ula tried to conjure more of her power, but she felt so weak that she couldn't do it.

Then the two of them noticed the other two zombies approaching from the far entrance.

"On three, we're going to split up and attack them individually," Faendal suddenly whispered, making her glance up in horror. "One... two... THREE! RUN, GIRL! RUN!"

[Panicking, Ula instantly took off, but the giant corpse pursued her, heavy boots thudding and bones creaking.](https://m.soundcloud.com/creepyskyrim/beyond-skyrim-cyrodiil-2)

The girl forced herself to go even faster, but the mummy rapidly gained ground despite her efforts; with the enemy almost upon her, Ula charged her hands with power, spun to a stop, took aim, and released two weak lightning bolts. The zombie didn't falter, and Ula's eyes widened when the corpse crashed into her before she could release more Magicka: they fell to the ground in a confused tangle, but the girl somehow managed to kick herself free. She frantically crawled to her feet and darted back towards Faendal, who was trading fierce blows with his undead opponents.

However, her eyes widened when one of the Draugr's swords came down, for Faendal screamed and fell backwards with blood gushing down his arm.

When the second zombie raised its axe for the death blow, that same blue light erupted from Ula's eyes and she charged the undead assailant headfirst. The monster paused, then faced her before swinging its axe. The tiny albino ducked under the two-handed blow and clawed the mummy's side with her sharp nails, leaving deep furrows and ripping out enormous chunks of flesh. The zombie slashed again, but missed by a mere inch as Ula dove to the side and scrambled towards the entrance.

A few strands of her shining hair fell to the ground, severed by the weapon's deadly blade.

She concentrated on leading the mummies away from Faendal and slipped into a narrow passageway between two walls: when she realized it was a dead end, the girl slid to a stop and tried to back out, but the walking corpses had already blocked the entrance. They advanced, cursing her in their unintelligible gravelly voices: Ula's amethyst eyes flashed from side to side, searching for a way out, but there was no way for her to escape.

As she faced her enemy, images flashed into her mind: a blade being buried in her chest... being decapitated... having her skull cleaved by the axe... memories of other people who'd died in this same spot.

At the thought of their fate, a burning, fiery power gathered from every part of her body. It was more than a desire for justice; it was her entire being rebelling against the fact of death—that she would cease to exist. The power grew stronger with extreme rapidity, until she felt ready to explode from the contained force.

She stood tall and straight, back arching gracefully as the terror left her: she raised her hand smoothly.

The walking dead lifted their weapons when Ula spread and angled her fingers, precisely aligning them with her targets. The energy inside her burned at an unbearable level: she had to release it or she felt it would destroy her. Three words suddenly leapt, unbidden, to her lips... and the mark on her throat exploded into view, burning white hot and searing her skin with agony. Visions of places and people flashed into her mind as her eyesight dimmed and power flooded her veins.

It completely engulfed her body and caused something to change.

Ula breathed in, amethyst eyes going blank as the knowledge spread within her soul; she instinctively began filling up her lungs and tilted her head back slightly, looking blankly at the corpses in front of her. The swirling light soon began illuminating her body.

 _" ** _ **FUS,**_** "_ Ula screeched, channeling the lightning through her fingertips at the same time, " _ ** **ROH DAH**!**_ "

The moment the last syllable left her soft lips, a thunderous concussion ripped through the air and a blinding white light radiated from the mark on her throat. It raced around her body in a spiraling manner and disappeared into her sleeves: within a nanosecond, the lightning lanced through the air amongst a wall of brilliant white light... and when it hit the three Draugr, the air resounded with an explosion that created a silver shockwave of raw power.

The force of it both blasted them off their feet and killed them instantly.

Ula stood panting in the empty corridor for a full minute before she looked at her glowing hands and touched her throat: the markings on her skin were glowing like white hot metal, yet even as she watched, the marks faded back to normal and she could no longer speak. The burning pain in her throat faded, and she clenched her fists in triumph... but suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over her: she felt strangely weak and feeble, almost as if she hadn't eaten for days.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed against a wall before sliding to the ground.

Once a modicum of strength had returned to her, Ula struggled to her feet and weakly made her way out of the nook she'd run into.

She noticed, without particularly caring, that her hands were shaking violently and her movements were jerky. She felt detached, as if everything she saw was happening to someone else. Ula returned to where Faendal had fallen and noticed that the elf was still lying motionless on the ground, which had her feeling worried.

When she hobbled over to his side, she realized that there was a long, blood-soaked cut on the Bosmer's right arm: the wound was bleeding profusely, but it was neither deep nor wide. Still, Ula knew it had to be either healed or bound before Faendal lost too much blood... and since she was so weak she could barely walk, using Magicka was probably out of the question.

She ran a hand through her long hair, then tried to lift the man up; however, the wood elf's weight proved to be way too much for her to handle and she dropped him heavily back to the ground. Ula was shocked by her own weakness.

She looked up when the elven male groaned and shifted: Faendal blinked blearily, putting a hand to his head before he glanced at Ula.

"Did we beat them?" he inquired, blinking when Ula weakly nodded her head. "How are you not even hurt?"

Ula merely shrugged and continued dressing his wound with glazed eyes.

"Ow..." Faendal muttered, gingerly touching his arm. "Do you know where my sword…. ah, never mind."

After she was finished tending to him, the girl's eyes rolled and she weakly fell forward, slumping against his chest. He seemed startled, but when he realized that she was falling asleep, he sighed in dismay.

"We may as well rest here for the night," the wood elf muttered, glancing at the sarcophagus with unhappy eyes. "That would be the best place, if I'm not mistaken: I shudder at the thought, but I think it would prove safe enough and comfortable enough."

Ula didn't care, as long as she could set her head down and close her eyes for a bit.

She hobbled after him when he slid inside the stone coffin, then practically flipped inside it.

After that, well... to put it simply, Faendal had a better opportunity of waking the dead than Ula at that moment.

 


End file.
